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IMPROVEMENT 

JULY    1950 


WE  STOPPED  at  a  Servel 
dealer's  and  learned  that  the 
gas  refrigerator  has  no  moving 
parts  in  the  freezing  system  to 
wear  or  make  a  noise.  A  tiny 
gas  flame  makes  cold  from  heat, 
at  low  cost.  Isn't  it  amazing? 


WE  LOOKED  at  the  beauti 
ful  new  models  and  discovered 
a  really  big  frozen  food  com- 
partment . . .  moist  cold  and  dry 
cold  protection  for  fresh  foods 
...  a  big  meat-keeper . . .  plastic- 
coated  shelves . . .  oh,  dozens  of 
features . . . and  such  roominess! 


WE  LISTENED  to  the  Ser- 
vel  in  operation  and  couldn't 
hear  a  sound. 


MOUNTAIN         FUEL 

SUPPLY         COMPANY 


Setter  •  Quicker  •  Cheaper 


'. 


By  DR.  FRANKLIN  S.  HARRIS,  JR. 

T-Jow  long  do  toads  live?  C.  E. 
Pemberton  has  reported  some 
longevity  tests  from  Hawaii  in  which 
tropical  American  toads  lived  from 
eight  and  a  half  years  to  a  record  of 
fifteen  years,  ten  months,  and  thirteen 
days.  The  record  was  made  by  a 
female  who  consumed  during  her  life- 
time an  estimated  72,000  cockroaches. 

A  change  in  temperature  of  one  ten- 
millionth  of  a  degree  can  be  de- 
tected by  an  instrument  developed  by 
Professor  Donald  H.  Andrews.  The 
instrument,  a  type  of  bolometer,  con- 
sists in  part  of  columbium  nitride 
which  changes  from  an  electrical 
superconductor  to  a  conductor  with 
extremely  small  amounts  of  energy. 
Superconductivity  is  a  curious  phe- 
nomena of  some  metals  which  have 
no  electrical  resistance  near  absolute 
zero  (459  degrees  below  zero  Faren- 
heit).  A  current  started  in  a  super- 
conducting ring  flows  indefinitely  be- 
cause there  is  no  resistance  to  eat  up 
the  electrical  energy. 

According  to  Yvonne  Le  Maitre, 
one-fourth  of  the  population  of 
New  York  City  are  foreign-born. 
There  are  a  million  Italians,  400,000 
of  whom  were  born  in  Italy.  There 
are  nearly  as  many  Russian  born; 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  Germans, 
nearly  200,000  Poles.  From  Ireland 
there  are  160,000.  Of  Jewish  stock 
there  is  an  estimated  two  million. 
There  are  seventy  nationalities  repre- 
sented in  the  city. 

As  the  sun  or  a  star  approaches  the 
horizon,  the  effective  thickness  of 
the    atmosphere    is    twenty    times    as 
great  as   directly   overhead. 

A  warm  cycle  of  climate  during  a 
thousand  years,  with  a  peak  at 
about  850  A.  D.,  permitted  cereal 
grains  to  ripen  in  Iceland  and  grapes 
in  England.  During  the  warmth  of 
the  early  1930's  soil  in  Greenland 
thawed  which  allowed  excavation  of 
Viking  bodies  which  had  been  frozen 
solidly  in  the  earth  for  a  thousand 
years.  If  the  polar  ice  caps  should 
melt,  the  level  of  the  oceans  will  rise 
about  150  feet. 

JULY  1950 


Mil  HOUSE 


CHOCOLATE  DROP  COOKIES 
cost  you  only*!  ftfkt  a  dozen* 

You  can't  make  them  at  home  that  cheaply 


TOWN  HOUSE  Cookies  by  Purity 
contain  loads  of  chocolate  drops, 
real  pecan  nuts,  pure  creamery  but- 
ter and  other  choice  ingredients. 
These  expensive  materials,  plus 
your  own  valuable  time,  would 
make  the  cost  of  your  home-made 
chocolate  chip  cookies  far  more 
than  l62Ac  a  dozen. 

Why  Bake  at  Home  ? 

when   you   can  buy   such   delicious 

chocolate   drop   cookies   at   so   low 

a  price? 


*Town  House  Cookies  by  Purity  are  sold  only  in 
cellophane-wrapped  cartons  which  average  34  cookies 
apiece.  At  the  prevailing  retail  price  of  47c  a  package 
the  cost  would  be  16#c  a  dozen. 


PURITY  BISCUIT  COMPANY 


Salt  Lake 


Phoenix 

537 


let  BOTANO  de  luxe  simplify 
your  control  of  Earwigs  and 
Spruce  Gall  Aphids.  Also 
efficient  against  Ants,  Squash 
Bugs,  Thrips,  Leafhoppers  (White 
Fly)  and  many  Fungus  Diseases. 


I 


Kill  RED  SPIDER 

on  your  EVERGREENS 

with 
VAPOTONE-XX  Spray 

Write  for  FREE  booklet  on 
ISOTOX  Garden  Spray, 

the  sensational  new 

multi-purpose  garden  spray 

containing  lindane! 


(JQRTHO) 


AfG.  VS.  Mr  Off 


N  TIHI 


JLkN  &<s\i/t^c^e\^ 


CALIFORNIA  SPRAY-CHEMICAL  CORP. 

P.O.  Box  428,  Caldwell.  Idaho 

ORThO,  BOTANO.    VAPGTGNE,   ISOTOX.    TM'S   REG.    J.S.  PAT.   OFF. 

538 


NORTH  AFRICAN  PRELUDE 
(Galbraith    Welch.    Morrow    &    Co., 
New  York.     1949.    650  pages.    $6.00  ) 

'T'he  author  has  made  an  intensely 
interesting  historical  survey  of  the 
northern  half  of  Africa  from  before  the 
beginning  of  history  until  the  return 
of  the  Christians,  following  the  in- 
vasion of  Africa  in  World  War  II. 
More  fascinating  than  any  novel,  the 
book  includes  little-known  and  never- 
before-related  materials.  The  author, 
moreover,  has  authenticated  the  mate- 
rial which  he  includes  in  the  book, 
annotating  and  giving  a  bibliography 
which  thus  provides  verification  as  well 
as  material  for  additional  study. 

The  author  has  long  made  a  habit 
of  collecting  relics  and  writings  con- 
cerning this  part  of  the  world.  He 
therefore  has  a  background  which 
lends  authenticity  to  his  work.  More- 
over,* he  has  a  style  that  invites  and 
commands  interest.  This  is  a  book'  that 
will  prove  of  great  value  in  gaining  an 
understanding  of  this  little-known 
region. — M.  C.  /. 

THE  PORTABLE  DANTE 
(Edited  by  Paolo  Milano.  The  Viking 
Press,  New  York,  1947.) 
"T^ante  is  only  a  name  to  those  who 
have  not  been  introduced  to  his 
writings.  Through  this  Portable  Dante 
this  introduction  should  be  effected. 
Included  in  this  handy  volume  are  the 
complete  Divine  Comedy,  La  Vita 
Nuova,  as  well  as  selections  from  The 
Rhymes,  The  Letters,  The  Latin 
Works,  This  inexpensive  edition  will 
be  of  great  value  to  those  who  would 
be  well  read.— M.  C.  /. 

THE  STORY  OF  SOUND 
(James  Geralton.  Harcourt,  Brace  and 
Co.,  New  York.  74  pages.  $2.00.) 
TLTave  you  wondered  why  there  are 
so  many  different  kinds  of  sounds 
and  what  makes  the  difference?  Did 
you  know  there,  are  sounds  the  human 
ear  cannot  detect? 

James  Geralton,  instructor  of  physics 
at  Harvard  University,  gives  much 
interesting  information  in  this  book 
about  sound,  in  terms  a  child  can 
understand. — D.  L.  G. 

WATERLESS  MOUNTAIN 

(Laura     Adams     Armer.     Longmans, 

Green  &  Co.,  New  York.  1950  reprint. 

$3.00.) 

TQeautifully  written,   this  novel   of 

■■"'  the  Navajos  deserves  the  numer- 
ous reprintings  it  has  enjoyed.  Win- 
ner of  the  Newberry  prize,  it  deserves 
reading  by  all  of  us  who  would  learn 
more    of    our    Indian    brother.      The 


folklore  is  particularly  well  executed, 
with  sympathy  and  understanding  and 
with  the  understanding  of  the  child 
through  whom  Mrs.  Armer  tells  the 
story. 

In  addition  the  book  tells  of  the 
white  man  who  loved  the  Navajos 
and  decided  that  they  needed  be- 
friending. The  book  is  especially  good 
for  our  people  when  we  are  trying  to 
carry    the    gospel    message    to    them. 

— M.  C.   /. 


JOAN  FOSTER,  JUNIOR 
( Alice  Ross  Colver.    Dodd,  Mead  and 
Co.,   New  York.      1949.     211    pages. 
$2.50.) 

"pOR  older  girls  this  story  of  a  college 
girl  will  be  of  value  for  the  lessons 
it  teaches,  and  of  interest  for  the  way 
in  which  the  author  presents  her 
material.  The  creation  of  the  college 
atmosphere  with  its  little  conflicts  and 
achievements     is     particularly     good 

— M.  C.  J. 

LULU'S  PLAY  SCHOOL 
(Charlotte  Steiner.  Illustrated.  Double- 
day  &  Co.,  Inc.,  Garden  City,  New 
York.     1948.    $1.25.) 
"TThis    delightful    picture    book    will 
prove  a  happy  experience  to  the 
youngest  who  will  like  the  pictures  and 
the    story.     The    sturdy    binding    will 
recommend  it  for  its  durability  as  well 
as  its  interest. — M.  C.  J. 

NEW  SHELLEY  LETTERS 
(Edited  by  W.  S.  Scott.     Yale  Uni- 
versity Press,  New  Haven.  1949.   170 
pages      $3.00.) 

THo  anyone  who  has  loved  the  poetry 
of  Shelley,  and  of  the  countless 
number  of  high  school  and  college  stu- 
dents who  have  read  him  there  are 
very  few  who  haven't  loved  him,  this 
collection  of  letters,  hitherto  for  the 
most  part  unavailable,  will  be  an  ex- 
citement and  a  thrill.  His  very  first 
letter  indicates  his  belief  that  "some 
vast  intellect  animates  Infinity.'' 

— M.  C.  J. 

NANCY  CLARK,  SOCIAL 
WORKER 

(Cora  Kasius.  Dodd,  Mead  and  Co., 
New  York.  1949.  246  pages.  $2.50.) 
"TThis  book  is  a  good  one  to  indicate 
the  vocation  of  a  social  worker. 
In  addition  to  the  story,  which  is  of 
intense  interest,  the  book  includes  ap- 
pendices which  indicate  schools  for 
social  work,  admission  requirements, 
tuition  rates,  fellowships,  and  other 
information  vital  to  the  would-be  stu- 
dent of  social  work.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  book  was  written  by 
a  capable  social  worker  who  came 
originally  from  Ogden,  Utah. — M,  C.  /. 
(Concluded  on  page  580) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


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of  Jesus  has  brought  inspiration  and  sublime 
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often  told,  but  perhaps  the  most  inspiring  and  ac- 
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itself,  is  this  new  masterwork  by  Fulton  Oursler. 
Simply  and  reverently,  everywhere  true  to  the  Gos- 
pels, he  faithfully  unfolds  the  timeless  story,  bring- 
ing Jesus  and  those  whose  lives  were  entwined  with 
His  excitingly  close  to  you.  Here,  indeed,  is  a  read- 
ing experience  to  be  deeply  enjoyed  and  cherished 
forever  by  every  member  of  your  family. 

Since  publication,  "The  Greatest  Story  Ever 
Told"  has  been  high  on  best-seller  lists.  Now, 
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i  Read  the  details  of  this  unusual  offer  below ! 


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FAMILY  READING  CLUB  •  MINEOLA,  NEW  YORK 


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Endorsed  fey  Leaders  of  All  Faiths 

'"Every  50  years  or  so  a  truly  great  'Life  of  Christ* 
appears.  In  my  opinion,  this  is  one  of  the 
greatest."        -Oft.  NORMAN  VINCENT  PEALE 

"I  wish  to  commend  you  very  highly  for  this  con- 
tribution co  religious  literature." 

-MSGR.  FULTON  J.  SHEEN 
"This  book  belongs  on  the  top  shelf  of  the  home 
library  of  America."        —DANIEL  A.  POLING, 

Christian  Herald 


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Miss 
Address.. 


(Please  Print) 


City Zone State 

Age  if 

Occupation under  21 

Same  price  in  Canada:   105  Bond  St.,  Toronto  2, 
Otter  Eood  only  In  the  0.  S.  A.  and  Canada 


Ont 


JULY    1950 


539 


VOLUME  53 


NUMBER  7 


<7U*V 


1950 


n~> 


Editors:    GEORGE    ALBERT    SMITH     -     JOHN    A.    WIDTSOE     -     RICHARD    L.     EVANS 

Managing    Editor:    DOYLE    L.    GREEN 

Associate   Managing    Editor:    MARBA    C.    JOSEPHSON 

Manuscript    Editor:     ELIZABETH     J.     MOFFITT     -     Research    Editor:     ALBERT     L. 

ZOBELL,    JR     -     "Today's    Family"    Editor:    BURL    SHEPHERD 

Contributing     Editors:    ARCHIBALD    F.     BENNETT     -     G.     HOMER     DURHAM 

FRANKLIN    S.    HARRIS,    JR.     -     HUGH    NIBLEY     -     LEE    A.    PALMER 

CLAUDE    B.     PETERSEN     -     SIDNEY    B.     SPERRY 

General    Manager:     ELBERT    R.    CURTIS     -     Associate    Manager:     BERTHA    S.    REEDER 

Business   Manager:   JOHN    D.    GILES     -     Advertising   Director:   VERL   F.    SCOTT 


The  Editor's  Page 

Brigham  Young — A  Great  Man George  Albert  Smith  545 

Church  Features 

Evidences  and  Reconciliations:  CXLV — Is  Book  of  Mormon  Geog- 
raphy Known? John  A,  Widtsoe  547 

The   Year-Round   Program    of   the   MJ.A* — A   June   Conference 

Report ... 550 

Search  Diligently — New  Light  on  the  Ballard  Family 

David  E.  Gardner  554 

The  1950  Mormon  Battalion  Trek — Conclusion  ...Milton  R.  Hunter  562 

Scouting  for  11-Year-Old  Boys Elbert  R.  Curtis  565 

Lehi  in  the  Desert— Part  VII ._ Hugh  Nibley  566 

The  Church  Moves  On  542       No  Liquor-Tobacco  Column  ..569 

Genealogy — The  Ballard  Family  ..554       Presiding  Bishopric's  Page 570 

Melchizedek  Priesthood 568 


Special  Features 


Seek  First  the  Kingdom  of  God — The  Story  of  Harvey  Fletcher  .... 

- Gordon  B.  Hinckley  548 

What  A  Chance  You  Take Ernest  C.  Anderson  553 

"Modern  Missionary  Campaign"  ._ John  D,  Giles  558 

A  Church  History  Travel  Service — IV John  D.  Giles  564 

The  Spoken  Word  from  Temple  Square  

Richard  L.  Evans  576,  589,  593,  596 


Exploring   the   Universe,    Franklin 
S.  Harris,  Jr ._ 537 

On  the  Bookrack 538 

These  Times,  The  U.  N.   Budget, 
G.   Homer   Durham 541 


Today's  Family Burl  Shepherd 

Be  a  New-Fashioned  Cook 572 

Blueprint  for  Beauty 572 

Broadening     Horizons     for     Your 
Child,  Helen  Gregg  Green  578 

Your  Page  and  Ours ....600 


Stories,  Poetry 


The  Legend  of  the  Sego  Lily ...John  Sherman  Walker  552 

Pete  Fights  a  Book  Eugene  Olsen  557 

Fight  With  a  Grizzly Emily  H.  Jepson  561 

Daily   Bread,   Helen   Maring 541  Faith,  Elaine  V.  Emans  546 

Frontispiece,  To  You,  in  the  Year  I     Shall     Go     Back,     Pansye     H. 

2000  A.D.,  Edna  S.  Dustin  543  Powell .....599 

Poetry  Page 544 


\JfHcial    \Jraan    of 

THE  PRIESTHOOD  QUORUMS, 
MUTUAL  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIA- 
TIONS, DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCA- 
TION, MUSIC  COMMITTEE,  WARD 
TEACHERS,  AND  OTHER  AGENCIES 
OF 

-Jhe    L^kurch   of 
of  t^Lattef-dau    J^ainti 


THE   COVER 

The  "Keep  in  tune  from  June  to  June" 
program,  enthusiastically  accepted  at  the 
June  M.I. A.  conference,  was  the  inspira- 
tion for  our  cover.  The  year-round 
program  of  the  M.I.A.  now  offers  recrea- 
tional and  spiritual  activity  for  every 
month  of  the  year.  The  cover  was  de- 
signed by  Nelson  White. 

General  Superintendent  Elbert  R. 
Curtis  of  the  Y.M.M.I.A.  gave  the 
Church  of  the  Air  address  on  Sunday, 
June  18,  1950,  in  the  Assembly  Hall.  His 
address  will  appear  in  a  subsequent  issue 
of  the  Era. 


EDITORIAL    AND    BUSINESS    OFFICES 

50  North  Main  Street 

Y.M.M.I.A.     Offices,     50     North     Main      St. 

Y.W.M.I.A.     Offices,    40     North    Main     St. 

Salt  Lake  City  1,  Utah 

Copyright  1950  by  Mutual  Funds,  Inc.,  a  Corpora- 
tion of  the  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improvement 
Association  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints.  All  rights  reserved.  Sub- 
scription price,  $2.50  a  year,  in  advance;  foreign 
subscriptions,  $3.00  a  year,  in  advance;  25c 
single   copy. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah, 
as  second-class  matter.  Acceptance  for  mailing 
at  special  rate  of  postage  provided  for  in  section 
1103,  Act  of  October  1917,  authorized  July  2, 
1918. 

The  Improvement  Era  is  not  responsible  for  un- 
solicited manuscripts,   but  welcomes   contributions. 

All  manuscripts  must  be  accompanied  by  sufficient 
postage    for   delivery    and    return. 

Change  of  Address 

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540 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


THE  UN  BUDGET 


By  DR.  G.  HOMER  DURHAM 

Head  of  Political  Science  Department. 

University   of   Utah 

HThe  expenditures  of  the  United 
States  national  government  are 
approximately  one  thousand  times  the 
expenditures  of  the  institution  known 
as  the  United  Nations.  The  world's 
investment  in  the  UN  is  great;  the 
amount  spent  for  maintaining  the 
solvency  of  the  investment  is  relatively 
low.  Expenditure  budgets  of  the  UN 
since  1946,  the  first  year,  are  reported 
as  follows  in  a  recent  publication  of 
the  department  of  state: 


Year 
1946 
1947 
1948 
1949 


Budget 
$19,390,000 
$28,616,568 
$39,285,736 
$43,487,128 


The  expansion  of  annual  expendi- 
tures not  only  reflects  price  increases 
since  1946,  a  considerable  item  (which 
means  we  have  to  pay  more  to  get 
the  same ) ,  but  also  reflects  an  expand- 
ing program  for  the  organization. 

Expenses  are  borne  by  the  members 
under  a  formula  administered  and  ap- 
portioned by  the  General  Assembly. 
The  scale  is  based  on  relative  capacity 
to  pay.  But  every  member  has  to  pay 
at  least  0.04  percent,  and  in  1948  the 
General  Assembly  recognized  "that 
in  normal  times  no  one  Member  State 
should  contribute  more  than  one-third 
of  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  United 
Nations  for  any  one  year."  The 
United  States  has  been  contributing 
39.89  percent.  This  will  undoubtedly 
be  scaled  down  to  33.33  percent  in 
accordance  with  the  view  that  an  or- 
ganization of  sovereign  states  should 
not  be  "unduly  dependent  upon  any 
single  member." 

The  scale  of  contributions  for  finan- 
cial 1949  shows  the  ten  largest  con- 
tributors to  the  UN  as  follows: 


Country 

Percent 

Amount 

1. 

U.  S.  A. 

39.89 

$16,601,021 

2. 

United 

Kingdom 

11.37 

$  4,731,853 

3. 

U.S.S.R. 

6.34 

$  2,638,518 

4. 

France 

6.00 

$  2,497,020 

5. 

China 

6.00 

$  2,497,020 

6. 

India 

3.25 

$  1,352,553 

7. 

Canada 

3.20 

$  1,331,744 

8. 

Sweden 

2.00 

$      832,340 

9. 

Australia 

1.97 

$      819,855 

10. 

Brazil 

1.85 

$      769,915 

These  figures  are  interesting.  Ten 
members  account  for  81.87  percent  of 
the  total  contributions.  The  remaining 
forty-eight  contribute  19.13  percent  of 
the  budget  expenditures.  Eight  small 
powers,  Costa  Rica,  Haiti,  Honduras, 
Iceland,  Liberia,  Nicaragua,  Paraguay, 
and  Yemen  pay  the  minimum  "dues" 
of  0.04  percent,  which  in  1949 
amounted  to  $16,647  each — the  price 
of  an  American  six-room  house  near 
Country  Club  Acres. 

More  interest  attaches  to  what  the 
figures  imply  inasmuch  as  they  repre- 
sent international  agreement  on  "ca- 
pacity to  pay."  It  certainly  advertises 
the  fact  that  democratic  capitalism  in 
the  United  States  has  ability  to  pay! 
The  Soviet  contribution,  hence  its 
internationally-judged  "capacity,"  is 
less  than  one-sixth  of  that  of  the 
United  States,  despite  the  greater  area 
and  greater  population  of  the  U.S.S.R. 
And  Canada,  with  only  one  inhabitant 
for  every  fifteen  or  sixteen  Russians, 
pays  over  half  as  much  as  the  larger 
Soviet  Union.  When  the  Soviet 
capacity  to  produce,  as  gauged  by  this 
international  judgment,  begins  to  ap- 
proach the  American-Canadian  stand- 
ard, there  may  be  some  little  occasion 
for  investigation.  But  in  the  mean- 
time, the  UN  budget  would  seem  to 
point  to  the  fact  that  the  workers' 
paradise  is  in  the  western  hemisphere, 
not  in  Eurasia. 


Rows  of  sprouting  wheat  appear 
Like    threads    of    green    to    web    the 
year, 
Holding  a  net  of  growth  and  hope 
Over  the  brown  of  flat  and  slope. 
Snow  and  rain  and  sun  of  spring — 
Perhaps  the  meadow  larks  that  sing — 
All  encourage  wheat  to  sprout 

JULY  1950 


DAILY  BREAD 
By  Helen  Mating 

Until  the  grain-filled  heads  come  out. 
Then   God's   kind   hand  and   Faith's   wide 

way 
Lead  us  on  to  harvest  day  .  .  . 
To    the    well-filled    board,    to    the   bowing 

head: 
"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.   .  .  ." 


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of  contents  and  ap- 
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(Postpaid,  add  30c) 


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ready  so  send  your 
ERAS   for  binding  to 

DESERET  NEWS  PRESS 


40  Richards  St. 
Salt  Lake  City 


541 


THE   CHURCH   MOVES   ON 


^Jt  U)au   Jo   JJau   Chronology   vJf  Church  (Lt 


f 


f 


vevi 


Is 


April  1950 


8  a  Elder  Clifford  E.  Young,  as- 
"  sistant  to  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve,  dedicated  the  new  Berkeley 
Stake  and  San  Francisco  Bay  (Cali- 
fornia) area  Church  welfare  store- 
house. 


May  1950 


The    first    Church    census    in    a 
decade     begun.        It     was      ex- 
pected to  be  completed  by  May  13. 


1 


3 


The  Presiding  Bishopric's  bulle- 
tin announced  that  Phoenix  First 
Ward,  Phoenix  (Arizona)  Stake,  had 
been  divided  to  form  Phoenix  Seventh 
Ward,  with  A.  B.  Campbell  as  bishop. 
Attorney  General  Clinton  D. 
Vernon  ruled  that  a  Church  welfare 
wheat  farm  in  Box  Elder  County  is 
subject  to  taxation.  The  ruling,  which 
will  effect  other  Church  welfare  farms, 
was  sought  after  taxes  were  levied  and 
paid  "under  protest." 

6  The  centennial  celebration  of  the 
arrival  of  the  first  L.D.S.  mis- 
sionaries in  Scandinavia  will  be  ap- 
propriately marked  by  a  three-day 
observance  in  Salt  Lake  City  August 
11,  12,  and  13,  Holger  M.  Larsen,  vice 
chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge 
of  the  celebration,  announced. 

5  President  J.  Reuben  Clark,  Jr., 
received  the  annual  distinguished 
service  award  presented  by  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  his  native  Tooele 
County  (Utah).  During  the  evening 
tributes  were  read  from  various  state 
and  national  leaders,  including  one 
from  Herbert  Hoover,  former  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 


6 


Fourth  annual  M  Men  and 
Gleaner  Girl  Track  and  Field 
Day  for  Division  Eleven  (southern 
California)  held  at  South  Gate  high 
school,  South  Gate,  California. 


7 


Davis  Green,  formerly  first 
counselor,  succeeded  President 
J.  Melvin  Toone  of  the  Minidoka 
(Idaho)  Stake.  Counselors  to  Presi- 
dent Green  are  Charles  N.  Campbell, 
formerly  second  counselor,  and  Rod- 
ney A.  Hansen. 

Milan  Dale  Smith  was  sustained  as 
president  of  the  Union  (Oregon) 
Stake,  succeeding  C.  Lloyd  Walch. 
542 


President  Smith's  counselors  are 
Charles  S.  Wood,  who  succeeded 
Thomas  C.  Hunt,  and  Melvin  Westen- 
skow,  who  is  retained  as  second 
counselor. 

Milwaukee  (Wisconsin)  Ward, 
Chicago  Stake,  chapel  dedicated  by 
Elder  Harold  B.  Lee  of  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve. 

i  A  Appointment  of  John  Longden 
-*-  "  to  the  general  Church  welfare 
committee  was  announced  by  the  First 
Presidency. 

Appointment  of  Mark  B.  Garff  to 
serve  as  chairman  of  the  Church  wel- 
fare building  committee  succeeding  the 
late  William  E.  Ryberg,  was  an- 
nounced by  Elder  Marion  G.  Romney, 
assistant  managing  director  of  the 
Church  welfare  plan. 

Emil  B.  Fetzer  was  also  appointed 
to  the  building  committee  of  the  Church 
welfare  program,  succeeding  his  father, 
John  Fetzer,  Sr.,  now  serving  on  a 
mission. 

i  q  A  monument  commemorating  old 
1  0  port  Lemhi  in  the  Salmon  River 
Valley  of  Idaho  was  unveiled  by  the 
Idaho  Stakes  of  the  Church  and  dedi- 
cated by  Bryant  S.  Hinckley,  who 
personally  represented  President 
George  Albert  Smith. 

1\  Sacrament  meetings  in  many  of 
*  the  wards  throughout  the  Church 
were  devoted  to  exercises  commemo- 
rating the  121st  anniversary  of  the 
restoration  of  the  Aaronic  Priesthood. 

Shoshone  Branch,  Blaine  (Idaho) 
Stake,  created  from  the  Dietrich  de- 
pendent branch,  with  President 
Merthen  Dille. 

i  fT  President  George  Albert  Smith 
*  *  participated  in  the  Utah  cere- 
monies of  the  opening  of  the  Inde- 
pendence Bond  Drive,  which  included 
the  tolling  of  a  replica  of  the  American 
Liberty  Bell. 

1  O  Joy  F.  Dunyon,  Church  super- 
■*■  "  visor  of  seminaries,  announced 
that  the  three  Salt  Lake  City 
senior  high  seminaries  would  hold 
morning  and  evening  summer  classes 
for  youths  of  junior  and  senior  high 
school  age.  The  program,  scheduled 
to  begin  June  19,  is  similar  to  one 
inaugurated  a  year  ago. 

-|  n    Wallace    F.    Toronto,    presi- 
■*■  *     dent  of  the  Czechoslovakian  Mis- 


sion who  was  expelled  from  Czecho- 
slovakia March  18,  arrived  in  Salt 
Lake  City. 

2  a  Twenty-seventh  Ward,  Emi- 
"  gration  (Salt  Lake  City)  Stake, 
won  the  first  All-Church  M.  I.  A. 
volleyball  tournament.  The  two-day 
tournament  was  played  at  the  Deseret 
Gym. 

2-|  President  J.  Reuben  Clark,  Jr., 
1  delivered  the  baccalaureate  ser- 
mon before  the  graduating  students  of 
the  Arizona  State  College,  Tempe, 
Arizona. 

President  Oscar  A.  Kirkham  of  the 
First  Council  of  the  Seventy  dedicated 
the  Sacramento  (California)  Stake 
Church  welfare  storehouse. 


22 


O  Division  Nine  of  the  Mutual 
athletic  program  began  playing 
baseball  on  a  new  four-diamond 
ball  park  at  1700  South  Redwood 
Road.  "American  League"  teams 
will  play  Mondays  and  Wednesdays, 
while  "National  League"  teams 
will  play  Tuesdays  and  Thursdays. 
Playoffs  are  expected  to  be  held  Au- 
gust 11  and  12.  This  marks  the  first 
season  that  baseball  has  been  a  part  of 
the  Church  sports  program. 

Monument  to  L.D.S.  Pioneers  un- 
veiled at  Fremont,  Nebraska.  It 
was  near  here  that  the  original  com- 
pany was  organized  into  tens,  fifties, 
and  hundreds. 

Farmington  Ward,  Young  (New 
Mexico)  Stake,  divided  into  two 
wards.  Arthur  Goodman  sustained  as 
bishop  of  the  First  Ward;  Bishop  Eg- 
bert D.  Brown  retained  as  bishop  of 
the  Second  Ward. 

2  n  Twelve  institutes  of  religion 
w  operated  by  the  Church  adjacent 
to  western  college  campuses  will 
graduate  a  total  of  390  students  this 
spring.  Church  seminaries  for  high 
school  students  will  graduate  a  total 
of  5438. 

Elder  Marion  G.  Romney,  Assistant 
to  the  Council  of  the  Twelve  and  as- 
sistant managing  director  of  the 
Church  welfare  plan  announced  new 
chairmen  for  three  Church  welfare 
regions.  They  are  President  Dale  H. 
Petersen  of  North  Sevier  Stake,  chair- 
man of  Richfield  Region;  President 
Delbert  F.  Wright  of  Oakland  Stake, 
chairman  of  San  Francisco  Bay 
Region;  and  President  Claude  Brown 
of  Twin  Falls  Stake,  chairman  of 
Central  Idaho  Region. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


MONUMENT   PARK   WARD   CHAPEL 
FRED    L.    MARKHAM,    ARCHITECT 


Jo     ijon,    in   the    ujear   2000  ^v.  ^Jj. 


'ear 

B      EDNA   S.   DUST  IN 


THIS  TOGETHER  WITH  VALUABLE  DOCUMENTS  WAS  SEALED  IN  THE 
CORNERSTONE  OF  THE  MONUMENT  PARK  WARD,  TO  BE  OPENED  IN 
THE  YEAR  2000  A.  D.  THE  CHURCH  IS  TO  BE  DEDICATED  IN  JULY  1950. 


% 


ere  in  the  snowlight  of  December  weather, 
We  of  this  ward  are  gathered  together 
To  seal  in  this  cornerstone  a  few 
Notes  of  this  day,  with  our  faith  in  you — 
You,  our  children's  children  in  2000  A.  D., 
As  we  place  each  brick  on  this  faithstone,  may  we 
Cement  our  faith  like  each  brick  we  lay, 
That  you  may  find  us  as  worthy  as  they 
To  whose  memory  this  edifice  we  stretch  in  height 
Over  the  place  they  camped  that  night — 
That  first  night  they  slept  in  this  promised  land, 
Dreamed  of  this  day  when  churches,  temples,  would 

stand. 
They  built  on  their  faith  in  us,  as  we,  too, 
Build  with  their  faith  on  our  faith  in  you. 
May  we  build  their  dreams  that  we  have  acquired 
And  be  the  parents  you  desired. 


JULY  1950 


543 


WASATCH 
By  Richard  F.  Armknecht 

Earth  turns  these  mountains  underneath 
the   sun 
Admiringly,   steeping   one  flank  with  light 
While  shadows  hold  another;  one  by  one 
Ridges  and  pinnacles  are  held  aright 
To  make  the  most  subtle  symmetries; 
Chasms  and  clefts  ooze  purple  from  their 

maws 
Until    a    flashing    sun-spear   sudden   frees 
Their  depths  from  darkness;  clouds  parade 

and  pause; 
Their  patterns  brush  the  slopes  and  blunt 

the  heights. 

Then,   in  those  last  brief  moments  of  the 

day, 
The  golden  largess  of  the  sun  invites 
A  roseate  answer,   fading  soon  to  gray, 
But  leaving  in  the  heart  the  rich  conviction 
Of  beauty  shared,  and  nature's  benediction. 


"THIS  IS  THE  PLACE" 
By  John  Gallinari  Whidding 

— Emigration   Canyon — Salt   Lake   City — 

HpHis  reaching  shaft  of  granite,  strong  and 
■*■     fair 

As  he — that  bold,  unflinching  patriarch 
Whose  trustful  words  at  journey's  ending 

mark 
Its  sunset  face — lifts  to  the  upper  air 
His  lion's  likeness  when  he  paused  to  stare 
Across  the  broad,  dry  land,  across  the  lake 
Of  deadly   brine  to  where   tall   mountains 

make 
Today,    as    then,    a    tooth-ridged    fortress 

there. 

Granite  and  bronze — the  God-created  stone, 
The  blended  ore!  The  strength  of  pioneers 
Was  kin  to  both,  more  kin  than  flesh  and 

bone 
Turning     to     dust     while,     glorious     with 

praise, 
These    brave    depictions    of    our    questing 

years 
Lend  courage  to  these  troubled  latter  days. 


BENEDICTION 
By   Beulah   Huish  Sadleir 

'"Phere  was  very  little  the  people  could 
■~     say 

As  they  gazed  at  the  valley  that  July  day. 
No  glorified  aspect  of  forest's   green — - 
No  ocean  front  where  boats  could  be  seen. 

Just  a  barren  sweep  of  gray  brown  brush: 

There  wasn't  a  tree, 

Nor  the  song  of  a  thrush; 

But   the   evening   came — and 

With  silent  prayer,  they  saw 

Faith's  reward — a  sunset  rare. 

The  sky  burst  open  with  flaming  rage — 

A  molten  ingot  in  a  blast  furnace  cage. 


No  word  was  spoken— 
They  pillowed  their  heads 
Where  God  had  prepared  their 
Desert  beds. 

544 


VEILED    MESSENGER 
By  Blanche  Kendall  McKey 

ET  the  earth  stop  whirling; 
J-'    Let  the  air  lie  still. 
All  the  little  chatter  and  the  striving, 
Let  them  rest. 

There  will  be  time  for  wheels  and  wings 
And  clashing   tongues  tomorrow. 
This    is    an    hour    for    whispers    and    for 
prayer. 

Remembered  laughter — let  it  live — 
And  every  tender  word. 
Each   lowly  act  of  kindness  freely   given; 
Friendship     surging    deep    from    year    to 

year; 
The  swift-winged  flash  of  thoughts,  which 

ceased  too  soon; 
And  every  hope  that  rose  in  golden  beauty, 
And    every     hope    that    sank    in    night's 

despair. 
Let  the  heart  shine  clear. 

This  is  the  hush  of  heaven  and  earth  em- 
bracing; 

The  lost  home  found  again. 

O  let  our  earth-bound  eyes  behold  a  little 
of  the  splendor, 

As  fresh-cut  roses  breathe  a  mute  farewell! 

(For  Kate  Thomas,  Utah  poet,  who  passed 
from    this    life    in    March    1950) 


BAREFOOT  SONG 

By  Elaine   V.   Emans 

Some  words  are  full  of  youthfulness  and 
feeling. 
Say  barefoot  to  me,  and  again  I  go 
Through  dew-wet  grass  where  spider-laces 

glow 
With  countless  diamonds  as  the  sun  comes 

stealing 
Around  a  hill.     It  takes  me  back  to  kneel- 
ing 
To  untie  shoestrings  so  that  I  might  know, 
By  dipping  an  experimental  toe, 
Whether    the    little    brook    was    right    for 

healing 
Spring   fever,  or  too  cold  for  wading  yet. 
Say   barefoot,  and  the  seasons  slip   away 
To  when  I  was  unlucky  enough  to  get 
Bee  stung  in  clover  bloom,  to  my  dismay — 
Or  fortunate,  at  ten  years,  not  to  let 
One  worry  mar  a  golden,  golden  day. 


BENT  TO  THE  SOWING 
By  Dorothy  J.  Roberts 

T)art  of  an  era  is  gone  to  rest  with  her — 

The  trundling  wagons  on  the  parching 

grasses; 
The  hidden  grave  in  some  forsaken  swale; 
The    cries    of    birth    that    wakened    lonely 

passes; 

The   cannonade  from  hooves  of  buffalo 
Thundering  their  manna  toward  the  wagon 

trains; 
The  brave,  bright  spirits  daring  each  new 

dawn; 
The     pilgrim     path,     forsaking     sheltered 

lanes; 

The  lash  of  discipline;  the  shout  of  mirth 
In  fire-lit  comfort  of  the  evening"  rest; 
The   gay   rejoinder;   and   the   heart  to   see 
A  fair  tomorrow  bannered  in  the  west.  .  .  . 

The  past  is  departing  with  her — quietly — 
Whose    eyes    once    lingered    on   a    young 

faith,   growing, 
Whose  fingers  helped  to  smooth  its  rough 

terrain, 
Her    strong    back    tirelessly    bent    to    the 

sowing. 

Though  this  remains  with  us:  the  kingdom 

spread 
On  parched  plains  tinted  now  with   fields 

and  grasses — 
Through  the  tapestry  of  thought,  runs  one 

dark  thread — 
Again,  with  her,  the  mighty  era  passes. 


WASH   DAY 
By   Thelma  Ireland 

[  like  to  take  clothes  off  the  line; 
*    They  feel  soft  as  a  feather; 
But  best  of  all  I  like  the  smell — 
They   smell  so   full   of  weather. 


ISAIAH   11:12 
By    Jon    Beck   Shank 

"R  Jlemento  mori,  oxskulls  wait  you  where 
1V1    With  waterbags  today   you  can  ig- 
nore 
The   rough   approach   or   even   go  by   air; 
But  otherwise  the  valley  shines  in  chalk- 
ened    purity,    and    trees    and    streams 
with    four 
New  cities  wait  to  rest  your  walk 
In  Zion.     By  the  Jordan  you  may  think 
On  those  that  truly  ate  the  given  fruit, 
Whose  traced  words  kept  you  faithful  to 

the  route: 
Moroni,   Alma,    Helaman — Yes,   think 

On  Zion  where  she  stands  in  tops  of  hills 
So  near  the  sky,  unrivaled  in  her  truth, 
Unspoiled  though  praised  the  livelong  day 

by  youth, 
By  seers,  by  mothers,  all  that  enter  in 
The  waters  and  come  out  on  fire;  chills 
And   fevers  be  the  weather  in 
Your  heart  then.     Noon's  potential  lion 
Prophesies  the  saved;  when  doom 
Consumes   the   land,   the   world   shall   turn 
to  Zion. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


§ 

§ 

§ 
§ 

§ 

§ 
§ 


*i<<0™^442r,lJ0r><4?K&><'&xS?~J* 


§ 

§ 
§ 

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BRIGHAM  YOUNG 


ma 


i 


an 


Remarks  of  President  George  Albert  Smith  at  the  unveiling  ceremonies  of  the 
Brigham  Young  monument,  held  at  V/hitingham,  Vermont,  Sunday,  May  28, 

1950,  at  1:30  p.m. 


prison  for  entertaining  others  of  his  sons 
when  they  were  in  distress.  I  am  going  to 
leave  you." 

They  pleaded  with  him  and  told  him  that 
he  knew  before  he  took  the  Quakers  in,  what 
the  penalty  was. 

He  said,  "Yes,  I  knew,  and  I  expected  to 
pay  a  fine,  but  I  didn't  think  that  my  own 
neighbors  would  consent  to  putting  me  in 
jail."  He  sold  his  property  and  moved  to 
Vermont  and,  as  a  result,  it  was  the  birth- 
place of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  that 
circumstance  has  added  his  illustrious  name 
to  the  list  of  other  famous  people  from  this 
state  of  Vermont. 

I  was  personally  acquainted  with  Brigham 
Young.  I  think  if  I  were  to  tell  you  of  my 
first  introduction  to  him,  you  might  be  inter- 
ested. I  was  a  little  boy,  five  years  of  age. 
I  had  a  black  velvet  suit,  and  my  hair  was 
nearly  as  white  then  as  it  is  now,  and  I  had 
hair  in  those  days,  too.  My  mother  called 
me  in  to  the  house  one  day  and  dressed  me  in 
my  new  black  velvet  suit  and  put  a  letter  in 
my  pocket.  I  can  see  the  picture  of  it  now  in 
my  mind's  eye.  My  mother  told  me  to  go  up  to 
President  Young's  office  and  ask  to  see  him 
and  give  the  letter  to  him  and  to  no  one  else. 

I  went  up  to  his  home.  At  that  time  he  lived 
in  what  today  would  be  considered  a  for- 
tress. The  Indians  were  at  times  troublesome 
and  for  safety,  the  block  where  President 
Young  lived  was  surrounded  by  a  strong 
wall  as  high  as  this  monument. 

I  had  two  long  blocks  to  walk  from  my 
house  to  Brigham  Young's.  Mother  had 
told  me  how  to  get  there.  When  I  arrived 
at  the  gate,  I  discovered  that  it  was  partly 
open.  It  was  a  large,  heavy  gate  made  of 
two-by-four  timbers  and  fastened  by  great 
heavy  iron  hinges.  It  took  quite  a  push  to 
open  it,  it  was  so  heavy,  and  when  it  was 
closed  and  barred  on  the  inside  with  timbers 
that  were  dropped  down  into  position,  it 
couldn't  be  opened  from  without.  As  I  looked 
inside  the  gate  a  large  Scotchman  by  the  name 
of  John  Smith  looked  at  me  and  said,  "What 

(Concluded  on  following  page) 


rethren  and  sisters,  and  fel- 
low Vermonters.  My  folk  came  from  Ver- 
mont, too,  and  I  am  glad  to  come  back  to  this 
state  that  has  produced  so  many  unusual 
and  outstanding  men  and  women.  I  have  in 
my  hand  a  list  of  more  than  a  hundred 
names  of  men  and  women,  mostly  men,  who 
as  pioneers  left  this  wonderful  green  country 
and  went  out  into  the  desert  to  make  their 
home.  The  result  was  that  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  be  born  out  there  in  Utah. 

There  is  much  that  has  been  said  already 
about  President  Brigham  Young,  and  much 
more  that  could  be  said,  and  I  would  like  to 
suggest  to  you  members  of  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  who  are 
here,  that  until  you  have  read  the  history  of 
President  Brigham  Young,  you  have  failed 
to  observe  much  worth-while  information 
that  you  might  find  in  his  life. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that 
Joseph  Smith  was  born  in  Vermont.  The 
Quakers  came  into  Massachusetts  near  Tops- 
field  where  the  Prophet's  forebears  were 
living.  It  was  contrary  to  the  law  to  feed  or 
entertain  the  Quakers  in  those  days.  Two 
of  them  came  to  the  house  of  Samuel  Smith 
and  said,  "We  can't  get  anything  to  eat  and 
have  no  place  to  rest.  Will  you  tell  us  what 
to  do?" 

Samuel  Smith  invited  them  in.  He  gave 
them  a  place  to  stay  for  the  night  and  sent 
them  on  their  way  the  next  morning,  fed 
and  rested.  When  his  neighbors  learned 
what  he  had  done,  he  was  arrested  and  taken 
into  court  where  he  was  sentenced  to  pay 
a  fine  and  was  imprisoned  for  entertaining 
Quakers.  That  was  a  forebear  of  Joseph 
Smith. 

The  result  was   that  when   Samuel   Smith 
was  released  from  jail,  he  called  his  neigh- 
bors together  and  said,  "My  property  is  for 
1" 
e. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  they  asked,  "You 
have  a  nice  place,  why  are  you  selling?" 

He  replied,  "I  am  going  away  from  here. 
I  will  no  longer  live  as  a  member  of  a  com- 
munity that  would  put  one  of  God's  sons  in 


'i 
§ 
§ 

§ 
§ 


'-^•~&^<-&^'~&v*&*^j^^<J^'^^&K/2rx4?~ji^ri%&'. 


JULY  1950 


§ 
§ 

§ 


§ 
§ 
§ 


§ 

s 
h 

s 

s 

§ 
I 

\ 

h 


(Concluded  from  preceding  page) 
do  you  want?"  He  scared  me  nearly 
to  death.  I  told  him  that  I  wanted 
to  see  Brigham  Young,  and  he  said, 
"President  Young  has  no  time  for 
the  likes  of  ye/'  He  bellowed  so 
that  I  was  nearly  ready  to  faint. 
But  then  I  looked  at  the  open  door 
of  the  office  and  a  great  big  man, 
nearly  six  feet  tall  and  with  a  long 
white  beard  and  hair,  was  standing 
in  the  doorway  and  he  called  to 
the  guard  and  said,  "What's 
wanted,  John?" 

John  replied,  "Here  is  a  little 
fellow  wants  to  see  President 
Young,"  and  then  he  roared  with 
laughter.  He  thought  it  was  a  good 
joke.  But  with  all  the  dignity  in 
the  world,  President  Young  said  to 
him,  "John,  show  him  in." 

There  was  nothing  else  the  guard 
could  do  then  but  to  let  me  in  and 
he  took  me  up  to  the  porch  where 
President  Young  was  standing,  for 
it  was  the  President  himself. 

President  Young  took  me  by  the 
hand  and  led  me  into  his  office,  sat 
down  at  his  desk  and  lifted  me  up 
on  his  knee  and  put  his  arm  around 
me.  In  the  kindest  way  one  could 
imagine,  he  said,  "What  do  you 
want   of   President   Young?" 

Just  think  of  it!  He  was  Presi- 
dent of  a  great  Church  and  Gover- 
nor of  a  Territory,  and  with  all  the 
duties  he  had  to  perform,  yet  I  as 
a  little  boy  was  received  with  as 
much  dignity  and  kindness  as  if 
I  had  come  as  a  governor  from  an 
cdjoining  state. 

I  felt  in  my  pocket,  took  out  the 
envelope,  and  said,  "My  mother 
told  me  to  give  this  to  you." 

My  father  was  on  a  mission  in 
England  at  that  time  and  that  gave 
my  mother  and  her  family  some 
privileges.  President  Young  was 
president  of  the  railroad  that  ran 
between  Salt  Lake  City  and  Ogden. 
The  letter  read,  "Dear  President 
Young:  I  haven't  seen  my  father 
and  mother  for  some  time.  I  would 
like  to  take  my  family  to  Ogden  to 
visit  with  them.  I  would  appreciate 
it  if  you  would  arrange  it  so  I  could 
go. 

President  Young  took  a  little  bell 
and  rang  it,  and  in  came  one  of  his 
secretaries.  He  handed  the  letter 
to  the  secretary  and  told  him  to 
fulfil  the  request  and  bring  it  back 
546 


THE  EDITOR'S  PAGE 

to  him.  The  secretary  made  out  a 
pass  for  us  to  Ogden  and  return  and 
gave  it  to  President  Young,  who 
took  a  quill  pen  and  signed  his 
name  to  it.  He  then  took  the  same 
envelope  that  it  came  in  and  put 
the  pass  in  it.  (Take  note  of  the 
fact  that  he  didn't  use  a  new  enve- 
lope but  used  the  old  one.)  He 
then  tucked  the  envelope  in  my 
pocket. 

While  we  were  waiting  for  the 
pass,  he  had  been  telling  me  what  a 
wonderful  father  and  mother  I  had 
and  what  a  good  boy  I  ought  to  be 
because  of  them.  He  walked  to  the 
door  with  me,  and  as  I  left,  he  said, 
"When  you  reach  home,  tell  your 
mother  that  I  hope  she  and  her 
family  will  have  a  pleasant  time 
with  her  family  in  Ogden." 

I  went  my  way  and  gave  Mother 
the  envelope  and  the  pass  and  we 
all  went  to  Ogden  to  visit  another 
Vermonter,  my  grandfather,  Lorin 
Farr,  who  came  from  Vermont.  He 
was  the  first  mayor  of  Ogden,  Utah, 
for  twenty  years  served  the  legisla- 
ture from  that  district,  built  the  first 
sawmill,  the  first  gristmill,  and  the 
only  woolen  mill  they  have  had.  He 
was  one  of  the  contractors  who  built 
the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  from 
the  West  to  where  it  joined  with 
the  Union  Pacific  at  Promontory, 
Utah,  where  the  gold  spike  was 
driven.  He  was  a  true  Vermonter. 
He  was  a  hard  worker,  aid  his 
family,  both  boys  and  girls,  were 
taught  to  work,  and  I  have  always 
considered  him  a  great  man. 

Do  you  wonder  then,  that  I  am 
glad  to  be  here  today  when  this 
monument  that  is  placed  here  at 
his  birthplace  is  to  be  dedicated?  I 
am  glad  to  be  with  the  rest  of  you 
and  I  would  like  to  say  that  I  appre- 
ciate the  opportunity  of  being  here 
with  you  in  this  glorious  sunshine 


FAITH 
By  Elaine   V.   Emans 

Faith  is  a  pointed  alpenstock 
That  gives  us,   though   we   first 

may  doubt  it, 

A  confidence  to  climb  to  peaks 

We  never  could  attain  without  it. 


with  this  beautiful  and  delightful 
atmosphere,  and  to  be  here  with 
these  prominent  people  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country.  There 
would  have  been  many  others  here 
if  they  had  been  in  a  position  to 
come,  but  I  am  glad  to  be  present. 
As  I  look  at  this  lovely  monument, 
I  am  wondering  what  President 
Young  would  say  if  he  were  here. 
Of  course,  there  are  other  monu- 
ments to  him,  but  this  is  at  his  birth- 
place and  where  he  ought  to  have  a 
monument. 

I  would  like  to  say  for  your  infor- 
mation that  a  number  of  years  ago 
one  of  the  prominent  men  of  Colum- 
bia University  wrote  what  he  called, 
"The   Source  of   Greatness."      He 
meant   by    that,    the    birthplace    of 
men  and  women  who   had   gained 
fame  and  recognition  in  this  coun- 
try.    When  I  went  to  see  him,   I 
asked  if  we  could  publish  the  infor- 
mation in  our  magazine,    The  Im- 
provement Era.    He  consented,  and 
it  was  published  after  we  had  con- 
densed it  and  had  had  him  check  our 
condensation.     Do  you  know  what 
it  showed?    There  were  more  scien- 
tists born  in  Utah,  in  proportion  to 
population,    than    any    other    state 
in   the   union.      Some   of   them    de- 
scended  from  Vermonters;  in   fact 
you  would  be  surprised  at  the  num- 
ber of  those  descended  from  Ver- 
monters in  that  section  of  the  coun- 
try.     There   were    more   men    and 
women  of  affairs  who  had  attained 
greatness,  who  were  born  in  Utah, 
in    proportion    to    the    population, 
than  in  any  other  state  in  the  union. 
You  can  see  what  you  Vermonters 
did!     You  started  a  group  of  peo- 
ple  out   there   in    Utah   who   were 
not  satisfied  with  ordinary  things. 
To   those  who  have   not  been   out 
there,    I   am   going    to    say,    "Wel- 
come— the  door  is  open  to  all  our 
Father's    children    who    desire    to 
come  to   see  us,"   and   if  you  will 
come  and  tell  us  you  are  from  Ver- 
mont, you  will  perhaps  get  a  little 
warmer    welcome. 

I  am  happy  to  be  here  and  grate- 
ful to  be  with  members  of  the  family 
of  Brigham  Young.  I  have  been 
asked  to  have  you  join  with  me  in 
dedicating  this  monument.  If  you 
will  all  arise,  we  will  join  in  saying 
to  the  Lord  that  we  are  grateful  for 
another  blessing. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


E  VIDENCES^dRECONCILIA  tions 


CXLV 


The  actual  geographical  locations 
of  Book  of  Mormon  events  and 
places  have  always  intrigued 
students  of  the  book.  Several 
volumes  and  many  articles  on  the 
subject  have  been  published.1  The 
various  writers  so  far  have  failed 
to  agree.  Often  the  suggested  lo- 
cations vary,  with  different  authors, 
thousands  of  miles.  An  earnest, 
honest  search  is  being  continued  by 
enthusiastic  Book  of  Mormon  stu- 
dents. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  was  writ- 
ten centuries  ago.  Consequently,  it 
makes  no  direct  reference  to  mod- 
ern, easily  identifiable  locations. 
Students  must  depend,  chiefly,  upon 
existing  natural  monuments,  such 
as  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  or  ocean 
beaches,  and  try  to  identify  them 
with  similar  places  mentioned  in 
the  Book  of  Mormon.  Ruins  of 
early  cities  are  also  used  as  clues  by 
the  investigator.  Usually,  an  ideal 
map  is  drawn  based  upon  geo- 
graphical facts  mentioned  in  the 
book.  Then  a  search  is  made  for 
existing  areas  complying  with  the 
map.  All  such  studies  are  legiti- 
mate, but  the  conclusions  drawn 
from  them,  though  they  may  be 
correct,  must  at  the  best  be  held  as 
intelligent  conjectures. 

As  far  as  can  be  learned,  the 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  translator  of 
the  book,  did  not  say  where,  on  the 
American  continent,  Book  of  Mor- 
mon activities  occurred.  Perhaps 
he  did  not  know.  However,  cer- 
tain facts  and  traditions  of  varying 
reliability  are  used  as  foundation 
guides  by  students  of  Book  of  Mor- 
mon geography. 

First,  it  is  known  by  revelation 
that  Adam,  the  father  of  the  human 
race,  lived  in  or  near  the  territory 
now  known  as  the  state  of  Mis- 
souri.2 This  has  no  bearing  on 
Book  of  Mormon  geography,  since 
it  deals  with  a  period  long  before 
the  coming  of  Book  of  Mormon  peo- 
ple to  America. 

Second,     on    the     journey     into 

1Among  them:  J.  A.  &  J.  N.  Washburn,  An  Ap- 
proach to  the  Study  of  Book  of  Mormon  Geography, 
(Prove  Utah,  1939);  T.  S.  Ferguson,  Cumorah 
Where?  Independence,  Mo.  1947);  Joel  Ricks, 
Geography  of  Book  of  Mormon  Lands  (1940);  Or- 
rin  G.  Wilde,  Landmarks  of  Ancient  American 
People  (1947);  Lynn  C.  Layton,  "An  'Ideal'  Book 
of  Mormon  Geography"  (The  Improvement  Era, 
41:394,    July    1938). 

2The    Improvement    Era    53:42    (January    1950) 

JULY  1950 


IS 

BOOK  OF  MORMON 

GEOGRAPHY 

KNOWN? 

i5u   donn  _^v.      \AJiatioe 
OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  TWELVE 

northwestern  Missouri,  led  by  the 
Prophet,  the  skeleton  of  a  large 
man  was  uncovered  near  the  Il- 
linois River.  Joseph  Smith  said  it 
was  the  remains  of  a  white  Lamanite 
named  Zelph,  a  leader  among  this 
people.3  This  is  not  of  much  value 
in  Book  of  Mormon  geographical 
studies,  since  Zelph  probably  dated 
from  a  later  time  when  Nephites 
and  Lamanites  had  been  somewhat 
dispersed  and  had  wandered  over 
the  country. 

Third,  the  hill  from  which  the 
Book  of  Mormon  plates  were  ob- 
tained by  Joseph  Smith  is  definitely 
known.  In  the  days  of  the  Prophet 
this  hill  was  known  among  the  peo- 
ple as  Cumorah.*  This  is  a  fixed 
point  in  Book  of  Mormon  later 
history.  There  is  a  controversy, 
however,  about  the  Hill  Cumorah — 
not  about  the  location  where  the 
Book  of  Mormon  plates  were  found, 
but  whether  it  is  the  hill  under  that 
name  near  which  Nephite  events 
took  place.'  A  name,  says  one,  may 
be  applied  to  more  than  one  hill; 
and  plates  containing  the  records 
of  a  people,  sacred  things,  could  be 
moved  from  place  to  place  by  di- 
vine help. 

However,  the  hill  known  today 
as  Cumorah  in  northern  New  York 
is  a  fixed,  known  point. 

Fourth,  a  statement  in  the  Com- 
pendium has  been  very  generally 
accepted  by  the  Church.  This  book, 
published  in  1882,  dealing  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  was  com- 
piled by  Franklin  D.  Richards  and 
James  A.  Little.  Elder  Richards 
was  a  member  of  the  Council  of 
the  Twelve,  and  James  A.  Little,  a 
prominent  and  trusted  elder  in  the 

'History    of    the    Church    (Salt    Lake    City,    Utah, 
1902-1932)    2:79 
*Ibid„    1:15 
EMormon    6:2.    6:    8:2;    Ether    15:11 


Church.  In  the  book  is  a  section 
devoted  to  "Gems  from  the  History 
of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith."  The 
last  of  these  "gems"  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Lehi's  Travels. — Revelation  to 
Joseph  the  Seer.  The  course  that 
Lehi  and  his  company  traveled 
from  Jerusalem  to  the  place  of  their 
destination:  They  traveled  nearly 
a  south,  southeast  direction  until 
they  came  to  the  nineteenth  degree 
of  north  latitude;  then  nearly  east 
to  the  sea  of  Arabia,  then  sailed 
in  a  southeast  direction,  and  landed 
on  the  continent  of  South  America, 
in  Chile,  thirty  degrees,  south  lati- 
tude."6 

This,  if  correctly  quoted  would 
be  another  fixed,  certain  point  in 
the  study  of  Book  of  Mormon  geo- 
graphy. Curiously  enough,  how- 
ever, this  statement  is  not  found 
in  the  history  of  Joseph.  Investiga- 
tion points  to  a  slip  of  paper  in 
possession  of  the  Church  Historian 
said  to  have  been  the  property  of 
President  Frederick  G.  Williams, 
one  of  Joseph's  counselors.  On  the 
paper  are  notes  pertaining  to  the 
doctrine  and  history  of  the  Church. 
There  also  is  found  the  above  item 
relating  to  "Lehi's  Travels."  Much 
doubt  has  been  cast  upon  the  re- 
liability of  this  statement,  since 
diligent  search  has  failed  to  trace 
it  to  the  Prophet.  It  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  Church  Historian 
as  a  gift  from  Ezra  G.  Williams, 
son  of  Frederick  G.  Williams  in 
1864,  twenty  years  after  the 
Prophet's  death,  and  was  not  pub- 
lished until  thirty-eight  years  after 
the  Prophet's  death. 

Fifth,  a  statement  from  the  days 
of  Joseph  Smith,  seldom  quoted, 
bears  on  this  subject.  In  the  Times 
and  Seasons,  1842,  Zarahemla,  a 
great  Book  of  Mormon  city,  is  part- 
ly identified  with  the  ruins  of 
Quirigua,  spoken  of  in  Stephens' 
great  book  Incidents  of  Travel  in 
Central  America,  Chiapas  and 
Yucatan.7  The  article  in  the  Times 
and  Seasons  positively  stated  that 
Zarahemla,  while  not  necessarily 
(Continued  on  page  596) 

^Compendium    (Salt   Lake    City,    Utah,    1886)    289 
7John    L.    Stephens   Incidents   of   Travel    in    Central 

America,    Chiapas,    and    Yucatan,    (New   York    1841  ) 

vol.    2,    p.    118.    ch.    VII 

547 


ii 


DR.   HARVEY  FLETCHER  f 

Each  time  you  talk  on  a  tele- 
phone, listen  to  a  radio,  or  see 
a  moving  picture;  each  time 
sound  comes  magnified  to  your 
ears  over  a  public  address  system, 
or  a  new  world  is  opened  by  means 
of  a  hearing  aid,  you  are  benefiting 
from  the  work  of  Harvey  Fletcher, 
the  modest  scientist  from  Utah  who 
became  director  of  physical  re- 
search in  one  of  the  world's  great 
laboratories — and  who  at  the  same 
time  presided  over  the  activities  of 
the  Church  in  the  nation's  largest 
city. 

Harvey  Fletcher  was  a  Provo, 
Utah,  boy  who  worked  on  a  Utah 
County  farm  during  the  summer 
months  and  walked  through  the 
snow  and  mud  of  unpaved  streets  to 
and  from  Brigham  Young  Universi- 
ty the  remainder  of  the  year.  The 
faculty  recognized  his  unusual  pen- 
chant for  mathematics  and  physics, 
and  let  him  teach  while  he  studied. 
He  completed  the  prescribed  course 
in  three  years  and  received  a 
Bachelor  of  Science  degree.  That 
was  in  1907. 

This  was  something  of  an 
achievement,  and  it  served  to  plant 
in  Harvey  Fletcher's  mind  the  be- 
548 


lEEK 


lief  that  even  a  boy  from  a  small 
town  might  be  able  to  hold  his  own 
with  students  of  the  great  eastern 
universities.  He  concluded  that  with 
the  help  of  the  Lord  he  could  realize 
his  ambition.  With  that  conviction 
and  the  encouragement  of  his  par- 
ents, he  determined  to  go  east. 

But  he  had  never  before  been 
away  from  home.  He  admits  his 
fear  about  facing  the  world  alone. 
The  solution  was  natural:  He  pro- 
posed to  his  sweetheart,  Lorena  K. 
Chipman,  that  they  be  married  and 
go  to  the  University  of  Chicago  on 
their  honeymoon. 

About  this  time,  John  Henry 
Smith,  then  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Twelve,  visited  Provo. 
The  timid  youth  gathered  all  his 
courage  and  went  to  see  the  great 
man,  laid  before  him  his  desires, 
and  asked  for  a  blessing.  Speaking 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  Elder 
Smith  told  the  young  man:  "'seek 
ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his 
righteousness,'  (Matt.  6:33)  and 
you  shall  enjoy  success  in  the 
things  you  undertake  to  do." 

But  when  the  boyish-looking 
Mormon  arrived  at  the  Chicago 
school,  the  officials  were  unwilling 
to  admit  him  to  graduate  study. 
Brigham  Young  University  counted 
for  little  in  their  minds.  The 
further  fact  that  he  had  had  only 
three  years  of  undergraduate 
courses  made  it  unthinkable  that 
he  should  do  graduate  work. 

That  was  a  dark  day  in  Chicago 
for  the  boy  from  Utah.  But  he 
persisted  in  his  pleadings  for  an 
opportunity,  and  finally  he  was  per- 
mitted to  register  as  a  special  stu- 
dent in  graduate  study  with  the 
provision  that  he  take  one  year  of 
undergraduate  courses. 

The  first  year  was  a  struggle.  He 
had  borrowed  money  to  pay  his 
way  on  the  theory  that  he  would 
put  everything  he  had  into  the  first 
year's  study  and  try  to  build  such 
a  reputation  that  the  school  would 
help    him   find   a   way   to   continue 


p 

HRSTthe 


^^CHw 


Itarw^llftttrto 


HKJ 


il)€il)BeR 


Itei 


tia^ind  tta  iftte?<K»ta! 


Honorary    Membership   award. 

until  he  had  won  his  goal.  His 
plan  worked.  Soon  his  industry 
and  ability  were  recognized,  and 
he  was  offered  a  position  with  the 
school  of  education  with  the  assign- 
ment to  assist  in  preparing  science 
courses  of  study. 

This  put  him  intimately  in  touch 
with  a  young  assistant  professor 
who  later  was  to  be  recognized  as 
one  of  the  great  scientists  of  the 
world — Robert  A.  Millikan.  At  the 
time,  Millikan  was  trying  to  iso- 
late the  electron,  and  he  suggested 
that  young  Fletcher  work  on  this 
as  a  subject  for  his  thesis.  The 
student  began  by  walking  to  the 
corner  drugstore  and  purchasing  an 
inexpensive,  ordinary  atomizer. 
Then,  building  a  simple  apparatus, 
he  passed  electrical  charges  through 
a  field  of  atomized  oil.  Millikan 
had  been  trying  to  do  the  same 
thing  with  atomized  water  but  with 
little  success. 

Harvey  Fletcher's  microscope  re- 
vealed a  startling  thing.  The  elec- 
tricity moved  by  particles,  and  not 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


kingdom  of  GOP../' 

The  story  of  Harvey  Fletcher, 
the  great  scientist  -  a  humble 
man  who  believed  implicitly 


rutCRleu 

EXECUTIVE  SECRETARY.  CHURCH   RADIO,  PUBLICITY  AND 
MISSION    LITERATURE    COMMITTEE 


as  a  continuous  flow,  as  had  been 
generally  supposed.  Each  school- 
day  afternoon  for  two  years  he 
worked  on  this  project,  hand-in- 
hand  with  Millikan.  In  1910  the 
results  of  their  work  were  an- 
nounced to  the  world.  Newspapers 
and  science  journals  over  the  na- 
tion carried  the  names  of  Millikan 
and  Fletcher  for  demonstrating  the 
atomic  nature  of  electricity,  and  for 
isolating  a  single  electron  and 
measuring  the  amount  of  electricity 
it  carried. 

One  day  there  came  to  the  labora- 
tory the  genius  of  General  Electric, 
Charles  P.  Steinmetz.  He  had 
traveled  from  Schenectady  to  tell 
the  youthful  theorists  that  he  did 
not  believe  what  they  claimed  to 
have  discovered.  All  that  after- 
noon the  boy  from  Provo  demon- 
strated to  the  wizard  of  the  electri- 
cal world.  After  peering  for  hours 
through  a  microscope,  Steinmetz 
left,  still  shaking  his  head,  but  con- 
vinced of  the  truthfulness  of  the 
discovery  and  pondering  its  tre- 
mendous  implications. 


On  the  basis  of  this  research, 
Robert  A.  Millikan  received  the 
Nobel  Prize.  And  from  this  dis- 
covery has  sprung  the  awesome 
field  of  electronics. 

In  June  of  1911  the  young  man 
who  at  first  had  been  refused  en- 
trance to  the  Chicago  school  took 
his  doctoral  examination.  He  walked 
in  to  meet  the  examining  board 
trembling,  but  prayerful.  And  he 
walked  out  with  the  first  summa  cum 
laude  ever  granted  by  the  Physics 
Department  of  the  University  of 
Chicago. 

Graduation  also  brought  an  offer 
from  the  Western  Electric  Labora- 
tories in  New  York  to  do  research, 
and  an  opportunity  from  the  uni- 
versity to  join  its  faculty.  The 
Chicago    sky   that   had   seemed   so 


Harvey    Fletcher    and    Leopold    Stokowski    in    1933    just 
prior    to    Stereophonic    demonstration    of    the   Philadelphia 
Orchestra's     symphonic     music     being     transmitted     from 
Academy   of   Music   in   Philadelphia    to   Constitution   Hall 
in    Washington,   D.   C. 


dark  three  years  earlier  had  become 
cloudless  and  full  of  promise. 

In  three  years  time  he  had  made 
up  his  undergraduate  deficiencies, 
had  performed  experiments  which 
led  to  a  new  theory  of  physical  mat- 
ter, and  had  received  the  first 
"highest  honors"  citation  ever 
awarded  by  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago Department  of  Physics.  And 
he  had  done  it  without  ever  spend" 
ing  a  Sabbath  day  in  study! 

He  had  abstained  from  Sunday 
study  because  of  a  religious  princi- 
ple. But  he  has  observed  many 
times  since  that  people  generally 
can  accomplish  more  if  they  work 

{Continued  on  page  582) 


LORENA    K.    CHIPMAN         Phyllis,  the  only  daugh- 
FLETCHER  ter  of  the  Fletchers. 

JULY  1950 


The  five  sons  of  the  Fletchers. 


549 


Year-Round 


rogram 


The  superintendency  and  the  presidency  of  the  M.I. A.  Left  to 
right,  seated:  Superintendent  Elbert  R.  Curtis,  President  Bertha  S.  Reeder. 
Standing,  left  to  right,  LaRue  C.  Longden,  2nd  counselor  in  the 
Y.W.M.I.A.;  David  S.  King,  2nd  assistant  to  the  Y. M.M.I. A.;  A.  Walter 
Stevenson,  1st  assistant  in  the  Y. M.M.I. A.,  and  Emily  H.  Bennett,  1st 
counselor    in    the    Y.W.M.I.A. 


A  June  Conference  Report 


For  three  full  days  in  June,  Mutual 
Improvement  Association  work- 
ers from  the  stakes  and  many  of 
the  missions  of  the  Church  gathered 
in   Salt   Lake   City   to   learn   about 


will  this  "largest  basketball  league 
in  the  world"  be  limited  to  M  Men 
participation.  The  program  is  now 
expanded  to  fill  a  need  of  increased 
activity     for     men     from     eighteen 


the  new  year-round  program  of  the      through  twenty-four.  Larger  wards, 


M.I. A.  The  occasion  was  the  an- 
nual M.I. A.  conference,  held  June 
16,  17,  and  18.  Those  present 
witnessed  or  participated  in  drama, 
dance,  music,  and  speech  festivals, 
and  many  of  them  took  part  in 
special  recreation  and  camp  insti- 
tutes held  the  two  days  preceding 
formal  opening   of  the  conference. 

It  is  a  new  program  in  many  re- 
spects, built  for  the  needs  of  the 
present  upon  the  foundations  of  the 
past.  New  activities,  new  age 
groupings,  new  responsibilities,  new 
methods  of  accomplishing  goals  are 
features  of  the  1950-51  year-round 
program. 

Scouting  is  being  carried  to 
the  eleven-year-old  boys  in  the 
Church.*  When  a  boy  becomes 
fourteen  years  of  age,  he  now  auto- 
matically becomes  an  Explorer,  and 
at  seventeen  he  joins  the  Junior  M 
Men  Group.  Bee  Hive  Girls  now 
complete  their  work  in  two  years; 
fourteen-  and  fifteen-year-old  girls 
will  be  members  of  the  new  Mia 
Maid  class.  At  sixteen  they  become 
Junior  Gleaners,  and  at  nineteen 
they  join  with  the  young  men  nine- 
teen years  of  age  and  older  in  a 
joint  M  Men-Gleaner  class.  Young 
men  and  women  between  the  ages 
of  twenty-five  and  twenty-nine  can 
choose  between  the  M  Men-Gleaner 
class  and  the  Special  Interest  group. 

In  the  athletic  department,  M 
Men  basketball  has  been  replaced 
by  all-Church  basketball.    No  more 


*For     a     special      article     on 
Scout   program    see   page   565. 

550 


the     eleven-year-old 


if  desirable,  will  be  permitted  to 
sponsor  more  than  one  team  in  stake 
play. 

An  innovation  for  the  1950- 
51  season  will  be  that  of  allowing 
junior  college  basketball  lettermen 
to  participate. 

Other  eligibility  changes  are  out- 
lined in  the  new  Athletic  Handbook. 
During  conference  sessions,  the 
second  all-Church  basketball  coach- 
ing school  was  conducted  in  the 
Deseret  Gymnasium.  Clinic  and 
group  discussions  were  conducted 
for  the  all-Church  softball  program 
(junior  and  senior),  volleyball,  and 
tennis.  Interest  in  the  softball  ac- 
tivity is  mounting,  with  more  ward 
teams  than  ever  before  registering 
for  this  season. 

Volleyball,  with  the  first  Church 
tournament  just  concluded  in  May, 
is  catching  on  throughout  all  of  the 
stakes.  Keen  interest  was  exhibited 
in  this  sport  by  those  in  attendance. 
It  speaks  well  for  the  future  of  this 
sport,  open  to  all  men  over  seven- 
teen in  all  wards  and  stakes  in  the 
Church. 

Tennis,  golf,  and  table  tennis 
were  presented  and  discussed  as 
possibly  the  next  sports  to  go  on 
an  all-Church  competitive  basis. 

Social-type  recreation  was 
stressed  in  the  Young  Women's 
recreation  department.  Active 
sports  such  as  softball,  basketball, 
tennis,  volleyball,  table  tennis,  and 
archery  were  discussed  with  the 
idea  in  mind  of  joining  forces  with 
the    young    men   on    a    competitive 


basis  in  many  of  these  sports.  How- 
ever, the  point  was  made  that  the 
matter  of  competitive  sports  should 
be  more  or  less  confined  within 
stake  limits.  Active  games,  quiet 
games,  relays,  musical  games  of  all 
kinds  were  demonstrated.  These 
come  directly  from  the  new  Recrea- 
tion Handbook  which  was  presented 
at  the  June  conference.  Mass  par- 
ticipation was  demonstrated,  show- 
ing leaders  how  to  take  the  whole 
M.I. A.  and  keep  the  groups  inter- 
ested and  active  in  fun  recreation 
evenings.  The  handicraft  workshop 
showed  work  that  is  planned  for 
each  department  during  the  year, 
sensing  the  need  of  every  person  to 
be  able  to  create  something  with 
his  hands. 

For  the  first  time  in  history,  the 
M  Men-Gleaner  session  was  one 
department,  as  general  board  lead- 
ers stressed  the  fact  that  the  two 
departments  are  now  one  in  activity, 
organization,  and  lesson  work. 

Also  for  the  first  time,  M  Men- 
Gleaner  stake  leaders  were  guests 
at  a  question-and-answer  dinner 
session  at  the  Lion  House,  at  which 
general  board  members  answered 
written  questions  by  stake  leaders. 

The  revised  Master  M  Men  and 
Golden  Gleaner  programs,  with  the 
age  limits  for  these  awards  raised 
to  thirty,  and  requirements  stand- 
ardized, were  also  put  into  effect. 

Dance,  drama,  speech,  and  song, 
inseparable  parts  of  the  M.I. A.  pro- 
gram, were  woven  into  the  meetings 
by  a  series  of  demonstrations  show- 
ing their  part  in  the  M  Men-Gleaner 
program  for  1950-51.  A  pageant, 
introducing  a  program  designed  to 
account  for  every  person  of  M  Men- 
Gleaner  age  in  every  ward  and 
stake  in  the  Church,  was  presented. 

The  Master  M  Men  breakfast 
Saturday  morning  and  the  Golden 
Gleaner    banquet    Friday    evening 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


of  the  M.I.A. 


drew  their  usual  overflow  crowds. 

A  flip-over  presentation  of  the 
new  five-point  Special  Interest  pro- 
gram was  one  of  the  highlights  of 
the  Special  Interest  sessions.  This 
new  treatment  of  Special  Interest 
work  points  up  with  dramatic  illus- 
trations the  five  important  phases 
of  the  new  program  for  Special  In- 
terest groups  throughout  the 
Church.  The  vital  part  that  these 
groups  can  play  in  reviving  interest 
among  Church  members  over 
twenty-five  is  highlighted  with  effec- 
tive ways  of  making  this  part  of 
M.I. A.  work  interesting  to  a  larger 
number  of  people. 

An  important  part  of  the  program 
was  a  demonstration  of  highly  suc- 
cessful features  used  by  various 
Special  Interest  groups  in  the  stakes 
and  wards  of  the  Church.  Special 
emphasis  was  given  to  the  project 
of  having  a  YOUNG  MARRIED 
GROUP  in  each  ward.  This  group, 
in  many  cases  separate  from  the  rest 
of  the  members,  is  composed  of 
young  married  people  whose  inter- 
ests are  much  the  same,  and  who  not 
only  meet  for  classwork  and  in- 
struction but  also  plan  activities 
especially  suited  to  their  needs  and 
desires. 

A  meeting  of  the  Junior  M  Men 
leaders  brought  about  the  full  an- 
nouncement of  the  program  for  the 
young  men  of  the  Church  aged 
seventeen  and  eighteen  years.  This 
new  program  is  built  around  the 
field  of  chivalry,  because  in  this 
field,  doing  right  and  proper  things 
is  glamorized  and  made  more  con- 
ducive to  popular  acclaim  and  favor- 
able reception. 

The  following  pledge  character- 
izes the  Junior  M  Men  program: 

"I  will  reverence  God,  honor  my 
priesthood,  and  respect  womanhood. 

"I  will  be  charitable  to  the  needy, 
honest,  merciful,  and  just,  and  sub- 
ject  to    all    constituted   authority." 

An  official  crest  has  been  pre- 
pared which  characterizes  the  sali- 
ent features  of  this  new  program. 
This  crest  will  be  the  official  in- 
signia of  the  group.  It  bears  a  motto 
by  which  every  Junior  M  Man  will 

JULY  1950 


be  expected  to  live.  This  motto  was 
adapted  from  a  description  of  Sir 
Galahad  in  the  Idylls  of  the  King: 
"My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of 
ten,  whene'er  my  heart  is  pure." 

On  the  evening  of  June  1 5  several 
thousand  people  witnessed  two  per- 
formances of  the  drama  festival  in 
Kingsbury  Hall.  Approximately 
three  hundred  young  people  parti- 
cipated. It  was  notable  that  all  acts, 
with  one  exception,  were  brought 
from  outlying  areas  of  the  Church. 
The  one  original  act,  entitled 
"Round-Up  Varieties,"  written  by 
Sister  Jeannette  Morrell,  was  pre- 
sented by  general  board  members 
with  the  idea  of  showing  drama 
people  in  the  Church  the  possibili- 
ties of  presenting  minstrel-type 
shows  in  other  ways,  and  particular- 
ly the  use  of  this  type  of  drama  in 
the  summer. 

On  the  evening  of  June  16,  before 
an  audience  of  more  than  twenty 
thousand,  more  than  four  thousand 
young  people  danced  in  a  glorious 
dance  festival.  A  spiritual  note  ran 
through  the  festival  as  the  reader 
at  the  beginning  and  at  the  close 


gave  thanks  for  a  Church  which 
furnished  such  opportunities  to  its 
young  people.  Again,  in  recogniz- 
ing Church  members  who  live  in 
outlying  stakes,  the  entr'actes  were 
brought  from  California,  Oregon, 
and  Washington.  There  were 
no  professionals  used  in  the  presen- 
tation; dancers,  readers,  and  all 
were  recruited  from  the  actual  mem- 
bership of  the  M.I. A. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  song  of 
the  righteous  is  a  prayer  unto  God. 
Certainly,  on  Saturday  evening, 
eight  thousand  thrilled  persons  rea- 
lized the  truth  of  this,  as  between 
fifteen  hundred  and  eighteen  hun- 
dred young  people  raised  their 
voices  in  song.  Under  the  direction 
of  Brother  Crawford  Y.  Gates,  the 
singing  reached  heights  seldom 
heard.  Again,  the  actual  partici- 
pation was  by  non-professionals. 
Sister  Lela  Peterson  from  California 
thrilled  her  hearers  with  her  lovely 
soprano  voice.  The  incidental 
music  written  by  Luacine  Clark 
Fox,  to  President  J.  Reuben  Clark's 
"Hymn  to  the  Seed  of  Ephraim  and 
(Continued  on  page  598) 


of  its  wealth  of  corn  and  berries, 
and  there  was  great  harvest  to  be 
ta&en. 

The    years    of    plenty,    however, 


<^L(, 


zaevi 


valleys  where  formerly  they  had 
lived  peacefully  together,  sharing 
with  each  other  the  bounteous  crops 
of  their  fields.  Many  were  killed 
in  the  fierce  encounters,  and  the 
gathering  of  the  harvest  was  neg- 
lected. 

The  Great  Spirit,  displeased  with 
the   sight    of    war    and   bloodshed, 


vL5u  /John  J^kerman     l/l/alher 


Utah's     state    flower,    the    deli- 
cately-blossomed    white     wild 
lily  with  the  edible,  nutritious 
root,  was  venerated  by  the  Indians      fostered  a  greedy  feeling  of  rivalry 
long  before  the  pioneers  traversed      among  the  tribesmen  and  soon  the 
the    Utah    valleys    and    found    the      Eutaws    were    vying,    family    with 


J 


ILY 


succulent    plant    in    snowy    masses 
along  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies. 

According  to  legend,  the  peace- 
ful valleys  of  the  Eutaws  were  once 
peopled  by  many  tribal  families  and 
the  smoke  from  many  tepees  rose 
tranquilly  to  the  rain-giving  skies. 
The  fruitful  land  gave  abundantly 


family  and  camp  with  camp,  to  see 
who  could  store  the  most  of  the 
plentiful  crops  for  the  winter. 

Bitter  fighting  with  tomahawk 
and  bow  took  the  place  of  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  gathering  corn 
and  berries,  and  the  warring  braves 
fought  continually  in  the  hills  and 


.  .  .  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  assuage  their 
sorrow  and  deliver  them  from  the  disaster  that 
threatened  to  leave  them  slowly  starving  to  death. 


KymtrtJf 


552 


sent  a  chastising  heat  over  the  lush 
mountain  valleys,  and  soon  the 
blighted  corn  shriveled  in  the  husk 
and  the  berries  dried  on  their  vines. 
Over  all  the  land  of  the  Eutaws 
clouds  of  ill  omen  hung  darkly,  and 
for  many  moons  only  gloom  and 
fear  hovered  about  the  valleys,  and 
hot  sands  whirled  over  the  parched 
earth,  searing  the  dwindling  crops. 

At  last  the  frightened  and  re- 
pentant people  cast  their  lances 
and  tomahawks  aside  and,  falling 
upon  their  knees,  prayed  to  the 
Great  Spirit  to  assuage  their  sorrow 
and  deliver  them  from  the  disaster 
that  threatened  to  leave  them  slow- 
ly starving  to  death. 

In  compassion,  the  Great  Spirit 
heard  their  prayers  and  sent  the 
life-giving  sun  and  gentle  rains 
again  across  the  great  valleys  of 
the  mountains  and  covered  the  hills 
with  the  beautiful  blooms  of  the 
sego  lilies,  whose  bulbous  roots  held 
nourishing  food,  which  the  Indians 
dug  and  tasted,  finding  them  sweet 
and  palatable. 

With  grateful  hearts,  the  relieved 
people  gazed  toward  the  heavens, 
knowing  that  the  Great  Spirit  had 
heard  their  prayers  and  had  sent 
them  the  sweet  segos  to  save  them 
from  starvation.  There,  on  the 
peaceful,  flower-dotted  hills,  the 
Eutaw  tribesmen  solemnly  vowed 
never  to  fight  again  upon  the  ground 
where  the  sweet  sego  lilies  bloom, 
and,  it  is  told,  to  this  day  the  prom- 
ise has  never  been  broken. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


6611  If  A  R  RI  A  GE      is 

I  W|    sweet  in  right- 
eousness." 

True  prophets  of  all 
ages  have  advised 
marriage  within  one's 
own  religious  group. 
Anciently,  when  the 
Lord  brought  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt,  he  commanded 
that  believers  should 
not  marry  unbelievers. 
He  told  them  such  a 
union  would  cause 
them  to  stray  from  the 
Church  and  to  follow 
other  gods  and  that  his 
anger  would  be  kin- 
dled against  them. 
Samson's  disregard  for  the  Lord's 
law  of  marriage  when  he  sought  a 
wife  among  the  Philistines  resujted 
in  great  suffering  to  many  and 
finally  in  Samson's  death. 

Modern  prophets  have  echoed  the 
ancient  admonition.  Mothers  in 
Israel  were  warned  by  Brigham 
Young  to  teach  their  daughters  to 
marry  in  the  Church,  and  that  if 
they  did  not,  they  would  surely 
lose  their  crowns. 

The  advice  of  President  Joseph  F. 
Smith  was  "that  believer  and  un- 
believer should  not  be  yoked  to- 
gether, for  sooner  or  later,  in  time 
or  in  eternity,  they  must  be  divided 
again.  ...  I  would  like  to  see  Latter- 
day  Saint  women  marry  Latter-day 
Saint  men  .  .  .  ;  let  Methodists  mar- 
ry Methodists,  Catholics  marry 
Catholics,  Presbyterians  marry 
Presbyterians,  and  so  on  to  the 
limit." 

An  appeal  made  to  our  youth  by 
Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoe  reads,  "Youth 
of  Israel,  marry  within  the  Church. 
.  .  .  Human  experience  and  safe 
counsel  are  clearly  against  'mixed' 
marriages.  The  countless  cases  on 
record  are  full  evidence  that  more 
joy  is  realized,  more  usefulness  at- 
tained, when  persons  of  the  same 
faith  marry." 

Some  of  our  young  people  ask, 
"Why  this  discrimination  against 
those  who  happen  not  to  believe  as 
we  do?  Many  of  them  live  lives 
which  would  be  a  credit  to  a  Latter- 
day  Saint.  Haven't  some  of  the 
faithful  members  been  brought  in- 
to the  Church  because  of  marriage 
to  good  Latter-day  Saints?" 
JULY  1950         ;•  ;v,     ?-. 


' — Photograph  by  H.   Armstrong  Roberts 


What  a 

CHANCE 


V 


ou 


take 


& 


y    

ASS'T  PROFESSOR  OF  BIOLOGY, 
EASTERN  OREGON  COLLEGE 


Yes,  but,  oh,  the  chance  you 
take!  The  non-member  wife  or  hus- 
band does  at  times  join  the  Church, 
but  such  cases  are  ^relatively  few. 
The  teaching  regarding  mixed  mar- 
riages is  not  peculiar  to  Latter-day 
Saints  alone.  Other  churches  and 
marriage  specialists  advise  against 
it.  Data  compiled  by  them  indicate 
that  marriages  are  more  successful 
if  both  husband  and  wife  have  the 
same  religious  beliefs.  An  article 
published  in  the  Catholic  Register 
stated  that  Catholic-Protestant 
mixed  marriages  are  three  times  as 
liable  to  end  in  divorce  or  separation 
as  non^tnixed  marriages. 

Is  the  stand  of  the  Church  a 
discrimination  against  the  integrity 
of  young  people  not  of  our  faith? 
No,  but  even  with  the  highest  moral 
and    spiritual   -standards,    a    young 


man  cannot  bring  to 
his  bride  the  blessings 
of  a  celestial  marriage 
in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  unless  he  holds 
the  Melchizedek 
Priesthood.  Nor  will 
the  priesthood  of  a 
fine  Latter-day  Saint 
'4  boy  entitle  him  to  this 
blessing  if  his  bride  is 
not  worthy  of  entering 
the  temple. 

What  is  the  an- 
swer? Parents,  help 
your  children  to  secure 
a  testimony  of  the  gos- 
pel. Teach  your  chil- 
dren the  sacredness 
and  privilege  of  a  tem- 
ple marriage.  Help  them  to  realize 
that  temple  marriage  is  a  saving 
ordinance  of  the  gospel,  the  same  as 
baptism  is,  and  is  necessary  for 
exaltation  in  the  celestial  kingdom. 
Set  an  example  by  the  pattern  of 
your  own  marriage.  Young  peo- 
ple, live  worthy  of  a  marriage  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord.  Choose  your 
associates  carefully;  take  advantage 
of  ward  and  stake  recreation;  where 
the  choice  is  yours,  attend  our 
Church  schools.  Counsel  with  your 
parents  and  heed  the  advice  of  our 
Church  leaders.  Make  your  choice 
of  a  mate  a  matter  of  earnest 
prayer. 

Oh,  the  joy  our  Father  in  heaven 
has  in  store  for  us  if  we  will  but 
abide  his  law! 

There  is  a  law,  irrevocably  decreed  in 
heaven  .  .  .  upon  which  all  blessings  are 
predicated — 

And  when  we  obtain  any  blessing  from 
God,  it  is  by  obedience  to  that  law  upon 
which  it  is  predicated.  (D.  &  C.  130:20-21.) 


553 


kieviealoau 


Early  in  the  year  1 795,  in  Purley, 
Berkshire,  a  secluded  English 
village,  William,  the  eldest  son  of 
Barnard  Ballard  and  Mary  his  wife, 
was  born.  Before  William  had 
reached  his  first  birthday  his  mother 
had  been  laid  to  rest  in  that  country 
churchyard,  leaving  Barnard  Bal- 
lard with  three  infant  children. 

In  1797,  Barnard  Ballard  married 
Ann  Avery  at  Purley,  and  in  the 
next  fourteen  years  seven  more 
children  were  added  to  the  family. 
The  eldest  son,  William,  early  in 
life  began  to  feel  that  he  would  be 
much  happier  away  from  the 
crowded  home  of  his  father,  and  in 
1805,  while  yet  a  youngster  of  ten 
years,  he  obtained  work  in  another 
locality,  eventually  living  in  the  ad- 
joining county  of  Hampshire. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years, 
William  Ballard  met  Hannah,  the 
daughter  of  George  and  Hannah 
Russell  of  Hannington,  and  the 
registers  of  the  ancient  parish  show 
that  they  married  October  16,  1820. 

By  profession,  William  was  a 
gardener,  and  for  most  of  his  mar- 
ried life  in  England,  he  lived  in 
the  caretaker's  house  on  the  estate 
of  an  English  nobleman,  near  Cold 
Ash  Common,  Thatcham,  Berk- 
shire. It  was  here  that  their  four 
sons,  Charles,  George,  John,  and 
Henry  were  born. 

John  and  George  eventually  be- 
came carriage  builders  and  were 
enabled  to  set  up  a  prosperous  busi- 
ness near  London. 

Henry,  the  youngest  son,  was 
sent  to  school  at  Thatcham,  where 
his  alertness  was  noticed  by  Wil- 
liam Harris,  the  headmaster.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  years,  Henry  se- 
cured work  on  a  farm  owned  by 
William  Northaway. 

While  working  in  the  fields, 
Henry  became  acquainted  with 
Joseph  Kimber,  a  farm  hand.  It  was 
through  him  that  Henry  learned  of 
Mormonism  and  listened  to  the 
message  of  the  restored  gospel  and 
the  ushering  in  of  the  Dispensation 
of  the  Fulness  of  Times.  Being  soon 
convinced  by  the  truth,  he  was 
baptized  in  February  1849.  This 
brought  public  condemnation  upon 
the  Ballard  household,  and  Henry 
554 


Pearch 


& 


<uJavid  C-. 
Ljamner 


IlIGENTLY..." 


was  severely  criticized  by  his 
brothers  who  disowned  him,  and 
he  suffered  the  disapproval  of  his 
parents. 

In  England,  1849  was  a  plague 
year  and  thousands  of  victims  died 
after  a  two  or  three-day  illness. 
Henry  Ballard  contracted  typhoid 
fever,  but  through  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  L.D.S.  elders  he 
was  healed.  This  healing,  in  con- 
nection with  the  teachings  and 
testimony  of  Henry  Ballard,  con- 
verted his  father  and  mother,  Wil- 


WILLIAM    BALLARD  HANNAH    BALLARD 

liam  and  Hannah  (Russell)  Ballard, 
and  they  were  baptized  in  the  fall 
of  1849. 

Honoring  the  call  of  the  Church 
to  strengthen  and  pioneer  the 
western  territories  of  America, 
Henry  Ballard  left  England  in  Janu- 
ary 1852.  Owing  to  Henry's  many 
delays  while  crossing  the  plains, 
William  and  Hannah,  who  left 
England  at  a  later  date,  were  the 
first  to  arrive  in  Utah.  The  family 
eventually  settled  in  Cache  Valley. 

William  and  Henry  Ballard  were 
firm    believers     in     the    latter-day 


MELVIN  J.   BALLARD 


revelations,  and  became  desirous  of 
attending  to  the  ordinances  on  behalf 
of  their  deceased  relatives.  In  the 
forty  and  more  years  since  William 
Ballard  left  his  father's  home  in 
Purley,  he  had  had  practically  no 
contact  with  his  kindred.  He 
had  worked  on  distant  farms,  mar- 
ried a  girl  from  the  next  county,  and 
reared  his  family  at  some  distance 
from  his  birthplace.  In  those  days 
travel  was  restricted  to  the  distance 
walked  in  daylight,  and  as  there 
was  very  little  spare  time  from  farm- 
ing, it  was  not  unusual  for  families 
to  become  parted  and  even  es- 
tranged. Busily  engaged  as  a 
gardener  on  a  large  estate  and  later 
pioneering  in  a  new  country,  Wil- 
liam had  kept  no  written  record  of 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


his  father's  people.  All  the  names 
that  he  could  recollect  in  old  age 
were  those  of  his  father  and 
mother  and  three  of  his  brothers, 
without  any  dates  and  places  of 
their  births  and  deaths. 

In  1887  when  Henry  Ballard  re- 
turned to  England  on  a  two-year 
mission,  he  made  numerous  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  to  trace  his  father's 


of  the  genealogical  society,  ex- 
amined the  possibilities  for  further 
research,  and  during  his  visit  to 
England  discussed  the  matter  with 
the  author. 

Census  records  which  had  been 
preserved  but  long  held  as  confi- 
dential were  now  open  for  public 
research.  Probate  records  pre- 
viously in  local  custody  were  now 


V lew  c^Liakt  on  the  OjSaltard  ^jramili 


i 


wm 


L^Yialidh  f\ecora6 


ancestry.  He  visited  a  number  of 
his  relatives  who  were  not  able  to 
impart  information  or  were  unwill- 
ing to  state  what  they  knew.  Sixty 
years  ago  all  present  sources  of 
genealogical  investigation  were  not 
available,  and  he  was  unable  to 
obtain  advice  from  a  genealogist. 
In  the  fifty  years  since  then,  evi- 
dence has  been  persistently  sought 


accessible  in  London,  and  methods 
of  research  and  verification  had 
been  improved.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  it  was  decided  to  start  at 
the  beginning,  commencing  with  the 
families  of  William  Ballard  and 
his  father  Barnard  Ballard. 

Briefly,  it  was  known  that  the 
birth  of  Barnard  Ballard's  youngest 
child,    Caroline,    was    recorded    in 


HENRY    BALLARD  THOMAS   McNEIL,   JR.        JANET    (REID)    McNEIL 


MARGARET     (McNEIL) 
BALLARD 


which  would  trace  Barnard  Ballard 
and  his  wife  Mary  and  establish 
their  parentage  and  ancestry.  Of 
these  attempts  two  are  worthy  of 
note. 

The  Purley  parish  records  were 
searched  by  the  late  George  Minns 
back  to  the  year  1662,  but  nothing 
earlier  was  found  than  the  birth,  in 
1792,  of  Ann,  the  sister  of  William 
Ballard,  and  the  marriages  of  1797 
verified  that  Barnard  Ballard  mar- 
ried Ann  Avery,  his  second  wife. 
The  record  of  his  first  marriage  to 
Mary  was  not  found,  and  so  it 
seemed  that  the  ancestry  of  one  of 
Utah's  pioneers  was  to  remain  un- 
solved. 

In  the  summer  of  1947,  Archi- 
bald F.  Bennett,  general  secretary 

JULY  1950 


Purley  registers  in  1811.  Research 
at  Purley  had  established  that 
Barnard  Ballard  had  not  died  there 
after  1811.  No  will  was  found  in 
the  probate  courts  which  would 
have  identified  the  place  where  he 
had  died.  What  happened  to  him 
was  a  mystery! 

England  has  no  central  index  to 
deaths  before  the  year  1837.  Un- 
less the  place  of  death  is  known, 
it  is  not  possible  to  locate  an  entry 
in  a  register  without  extensive 
searches  through  the  records  of 
perhaps  a  score  or  more  villages 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  last  known 
residence. 

Known  facts  concerning  Barnard 
Ballard  included  that  he  was 
the    father    of    ten    children,    and 


it  may  be  supposed  that  in  the 
latter  years  of  his  life«  he  had 
left  Purley  and  resided  in  the 
home  of  one  of  his  children, 
all  of  whom  had  been  engaged  in 
agriculture  and  were  unlikely  to 
have  traveled  far  from  Purley. 

What  should  be  done  to  find  the 
record  of  these  children  and  estab- 
lish them  in  the  villages  where  they 
had  chosen  to  reside? 

In  1851  a  census  of  every  house- 
hold was  taken;  these  records  clear- 
ly state  the  full  names,  ages,  rela- 
tionships, trades,  and  birthplaces  of 
every  person  in  every  household 
in  England.  Perhaps  some  of  these 
children  might  be  found  in  this 
census  and  thus  form  a  connecting 
link  between  them  and  the  burial 
place  of  Barnard  Ballard.  The 
map  of  Berkshire  was  examined; 
Purley  village  pinpointed;  and  the 
surrounding  villages  noted. 

The  1851  census,  available  in 
the  legal  search  room  of  the  Public 
Record  Office,  London,  was  search- 
ed. Nine  families  of  Ballard  were 
traced  in  the  records  of  twenty- 
seven  villages  searched  before  the 
following  remarkable  and  exciting 
entry  was  found: 

Parish  of  Tilehurst,  Berkshire:  Household 
of  David  Swaine. 

Head  DAVID  SWAINE,  age  30,  agri- 
cultural, born  Aldermaston,  Berkshire; 
wife  ANN  SWAINE,  age  26,  born  Tile- 
hurst, Berkshire;  lodger  BARNET  BAL- 
LARD, age  88,  agricultural,  born  Ufton, 
Berkshire. 

This  search  was  more  successful 
than  had  been  anticipated,  for  here, 
judging  from  his  age  and  the  local- 
ity, was  evidently  the  ancestor 
Barnet  Ballard  (an  alternative 
spelling  for  Barnard  Ballard),  age 
eighty-eight  years,  and  therefore 
born  about  1 763  in  Ufton,  the  parish 
where  the  records  from  1742  to 
1812  had  been  lost. 

In  the  many  instances  where 
parish  registers  are  missing,  a  dupli- 
cate record  may  be  traced  in  the 
muniments  of  the  diocesan  office. 
No  time  was  lost  in  visiting  the 
diocesan  office  at  Salisbury,  to  find 
that  documents  known  as  bishops' 
transcripts  gave  details  of  births 
and  deaths  at  Ufton  for  the  missing 
period.  The  searching  of  these  old 
dusty  parchments  which  are  strung 
together  on  catgut  and  rolled  into 
bundles,  revealed  an  entry: 

(Continued  on  following  page) 

555 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

Christened  at  UFTON  NERVET: 

8    August     1763,    BARNARD    son    of 
JOHN  BALLARD  and   Mary  his  wife. 

Searching  through  earlier  years 
revealed  the  marriage  of  John  Bal- 
lard, 18  January  1760  at  Ufton 
Nervet  to  Mary  Barefoot,  giving  the 
record  of  a  new  line  to  trace.  The 
scrutiny  of  the  Ufton  Nervet 
bishops'  transcripts  back  to  1608 
did  not  bring  to  light  any  clear 
:  record  of  earlier  ancestry.  However, 
these  parchments  did  give  details 
of  several  brothers  and  sisters  of 
Barnard  Ballard  as  well  as  the 
burials  and  baptisms  of  Ballards 
of  several  generations  without  di- 
rectly identifying  their  exact  re- 
lationship to  Barnard  Ballard.  The 
marriage  of  Barnard  Ballard  to  his 
first  wife,  Mary,  was  not  found  in 
the  Ufton  records,  but  by  extending 
the  search  to  transcripts  from  near- 
by villages  to  Ufton,  a  document 
was  found  which  stated  that  on  the 
tenth  of  January  1792,  Barnet  Bal- 
lard of  Purley  married  Mary  Elms 
at  Tidmarsh.  Thus  another  maiden 
surname  was  brought  to  light,  this 
time  the  line  of  the  mother  of  Wil- 
liam Ballard. 

Was  it  possible  to  identify  all  the 
Ballard  families  obtained  from  Uf- 
ton registers  and  perhaps  trace  the 
Ballard   ancestry   further? 

The  probate  records  of  the  arch- 
deaconry of  Berkshire  once  kept  in 
the  city  of  Oxford,  were  now  avail- 
able at  Somerset  House,  London. 
The  will  of  John  Ballard,  buried  at 
Ufton  in  1810,  was  found.  It  was 
proved  10  May  1810,  and  states 
that  he  was  John  Ballard,  victualler, 
and  he  bequeathed  his  property  to 
his  wife  Mary  and  to  five  of  his 
sons-in-law.  This  was  clearly  the 
John  Ballard  who  married  Mary 
Barefoot  in  1760,  and  father  of 
Barnard  Ballard. 

Another  will  was  found  which 
identified  a  John  Ballard  who  had 
been  buried  at  Ufton  20  November 
1790.  This  will  was  proved  23 
November  1790  and  stated  that  the 
deceased  was  John  Ballard,  Senr., 
of  Ufton,  "farmer  and  yeoman." 
In  it  he  mentioned  his  wife  Eliza- 
beth and  "my  children."  A  care- 
ful scrutiny  of  the  information  from 
Ufton  transcripts  shows  that  there 
were  two  John  Ballards  living  in 
556 


SEARCH  DILIGENTLY 

Ufton  in  the  year  1790,  one  being 
the  ancestor  John  Ballard,  victual- 
ler, who  married  Mary  Barefoot, 
and  the  other  John  Ballard,  Senr., 
farmer,  whose  will  is  noted  above, 
and  who  was  undoubtedly  the 
father  of  the  victualler. 

Further  searching  in  the  wills  re- 
vealed one  probated  26  July  1757 
which  referred  to  the  John  Ballard 
who  was  buried  at  Ufton  25  June 
1 757.  This  was  a  very  lengthy  will, 
extending  over  several  pages,  stat- 
ing that  John  Ballard  was  a  yeoman, 
possessing  four  farms  in  the  parish 
of  Ufton,  and  naming  his  wife 
Elizabeth  and  at  least  twenty-six 
of  his  close  relatives  to  whom  he 
bequeathed  his  property,  including 
his  grandson  John  Ballard  who  was 
the  son  of  John  Ballard.  He  ap- 
pointed as  joint  executors  his  sons 
named  John  Ballard  and  Jonathan 
Ballard.  A  careful  check  of  all 
known  data  from  Ufton  identifies 
this  John  Ballard,  yeoman  farmer, 
who  died  in  1 757,  as  the  great- 
grandfather of  Barnard  Ballard  and 
the  fourth-great-grandfather  of  the 
late  Elder  Melvin  J.  Ballard. 

Among  the  probate  records  there 
was  an  administration  of  the  estate 
of  Perer  Barefoot  who  had  been 
buried  in  the  same  parish  of  Ufton 
in  1771.  Letters  of  administration 
had  been  granted  to  John  Barefoot, 
son  of  the  deceased  because  Mary 
Barefoot,  the  widow  had  renounced 
her  claim.  Was  this  a  clue  to  the 
parentage  of  Mary  Barefoot  who 
was  the  wife  of  John  Ballard? 

The  birth  year  of  Mary  Barefoot 
was  approximated  as  1739-1740 
from  the  age  recorded  in  the  burial 
book  at  Ufton,  she  having  been 
buried  there  5  April  1820,  aged 
eighty  years.  Several  nearby  par- 
ishes had  been  searched  for  her 
birth,  but  it  was  not  until  the  regis- 
ters of  Tilehurst  were  scruti- 
nized that  the  following  entry  con- 
firmed the  supposition: 

Christened  at  TILEHURST,   Berks: 

2     July      1739,      MARY     daughter     of 
PETER  AND  MARY  BAREFOOT. 

and    resulted    in    the    finding    of    a 
family  group  of  four  children. 

Peter  Barefoot  was  a  yeoman 
farmer,  and  he  married,  at  Tile- 
hurst 29  December  1734,  Mary  Ap- 
pleby of  Woolhampton.  His  birth 
record  at  Tilehurst  in   1707  estab- 


lished him  as  one  of  the  six  children 
of  John  and  Ann  Barefoot.  A  search 
back  to  1 630  in  Tilehurst  registers 
did  not  reveal  any  further  ancestry, 
but  in  the  nearby  town  of  Reading, 
in  the  records  of  the  Church  of 
Saint  Mary  was  found  the  marriage 
of  John  Barefoot  to  Ann  Dewberry, 
18  June  1693. 

Again  recourse  to  the  probate 
records  demonstrated  their  impor- 
tance, for  there  was  found  in  the 
administration  of  the  estate  of  John 
Barefoot  in  1722,  that  he  was  de- 
scribed as  a  husbandman,  and  in 
the  same  probate  court  was  recorded 
an  administration  naming  a  James 
Barefoot,  also  a  husbandman,  who 
had  died  at  Purley  in  1672,  the 
same  village  where  the  emigrant 
ancestor  William  Ballard  was  born 
in  1795.  Whether  this  James  Bare- 
foot was  the  ancestor  and  father 
of  John  Barefoot  could  only  be 
solved  by  a  visit  to  Purley  church. 

Meeting  the  parish  minister  of 
Purley  in  the  town  of  Reading  we 
went  to  this  quiet  secluded  parish 
church,  set  in  the  beautiful  English 
countryside.  A  search  of  the  Pur- 
ley registers  revealed  that  our  John 
Barefoot  had  been  christened  1  June 
1666,  one  of  the  three  children  of 
James  and  Elizabeth  Barefoot.  The 
registers  earlier  than  1662  had  been 
lost,  so  further  Barefoot  ancestry 
will  require  tracing  through  other 
contemporary  records. 

As  already  noted,  M.<ry  Appleby 
had  married  in  1734  at  Tilehurst 
Peter  Barefoot,  and  she  was  de- 
scribed as  a  resident  of  the  parish 
of  Woolhampton,  Berks.  From 
Reading  to  Woolhampton  was  a 
journey  through  pleasant  country 
lanes,  the  green  fields  and  woods 
reflecting  the  quiet  and  spirit  of 
calmness  of  a  summer  in  England. 
Arriving  at  the  old  village,  a  stiff 
climb  up  the  hill  was  rewarded  by 
the  appearance  of  the  ancient 
Church,  of  the  vicar  on  his  bicycle, 
eager  and  desirous  to  help  in  pro- 
ducing from  the  safe  the  old  parch- 
ment registers  and  permitting  an 
examination  of  the  old  English 
script.  After  some  effort  the 
christening  of  Mary  Appleby  on 
22  January  1709/10  was  found. 
This  identified  her  as  the  daughter 
of  John  Appleby  who  had  mar- 
ried, 30  December  1705,  Martha 
(Concluded  on  page  580) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


ETE 


-BOOK 

d5t4  (L-umne   Lsidi 


m  C^uaene    \-slSevi 


I  have  heard  of  a  lot  of  silly- 
things  4n  my  time,  but  the 
worst  is  about  Pete  Messick. 
Pete  is  a  cheerful,  good-natured  farmer 
and  one  of  my  best  friends.  He  came 
into  my  store  the  other  day  and  said, 
"George,  that  book  has  whipped  me 
again." 

He  didn't  wait  for  me  to  finish  add- 
ing up  my  accounts  but  went  right  on. 
"I  got  four  of  the  best  friends  man  ever 
had  and  bought  every  one  cheap." 

"Dogs?"  I  asked  him.  It  is  said 
that  a  dog  is  man's  best  friend. 

"I  mean  people,  families.  When  I 
was  off  to  school  I  read  a  book.  -It 
might  have  been  Emerson's  Essays. 
Anyway  it  said  that  a  man  could  not 
give  away  anything  without  getting 
back  an  equal  reward," 

"I  don't  believe  it.  Every  year  I 
give  away  groceries  to  skuldugers,  who 
won't  pay  their  bills.     Reminds  me — " 

"I  don't  believe  it,  either,"  he  cut 
in,  "and  I've  been  fighting  that  book 
for  years,  but  it's  no  use."  He  hoisted 
himself  up  on  the  counter. 

"I  think—" 

"Let  me  tell  you  about  it,"  he  inter- 
rupted. "When  I  was  just  a  kid,  Mr. 
Lords  came  in  the  field  where  we  were 
haying,  and  I  was  lazy  and  give  out 
and  glad  for  an  interruption.  He 
shoved  me  off  the  wagon  and  made 
me  go  and  play.  He  talked  business 
with  my  father  for  two  loads  of  hay, 
and  I  was  wishing  he  would  talk 
longer.  The  point  is,  he  worked  for 
us  and  never  got  any  reward  or  pay. 
I  thought  the  world  of  him  until  he 
died."  Pete  stopped,  and  it  almost 
looked  like  there  was  a  tear  in  the 
corner  of  his  eye.  Pete  is  rather 
sentimental. 

"Maybe  he — " 

"I  wasn't  thinking  of  him  in  partic- 
ular," he  went  on.  "I  was  thinking  of 
that  book  and  how  I  decided  to  show 
that  it  was  all  wrong.  It  was  on  a 
sultry  day  in  July  that  I  walked  over 
to  Mr.  Best's  farm.  He  was  out 
bunching  hay.  I  got  a  pitchfork  from 
his  stackyard  and  went  out  and  told 
him  that  he  needed  company.  We 
worked  hard  to  finish  that  hay  by 
night. 

"Well,  four  months  went  by,  and 
I  was  happy  because  I  had  done  work 
with  no  reward.     Then  one  day  Best 

JULY  1950 


:..;.  '■:■■  ■:      ■ 


'*!% 


came  over  and  wanted  me  to  work 
for  him  for  about  ten  days.  He  was 
nice  to  work  for,  and  the  wages  were 
good.  When  he  came  to  pay  for  the 
work,  he  absolutely  insisted  that  I 
take  pay  for  that  time  I  had  helped 
in  the  hay.  He  insisted  that  he  ap- 
preciated it  more  than  any  help  he 
had  ever  had." 

I  could  see  that  Pete  was  not  too 
disappointed  because  a  smile  lit  up  his 
face  as  the  memory  lingered. 

"Anyone  would  do  that,"  I  said, 
"Hot  day,  tired  man,  big  field." 

Pete  looked  at  me  and  frowned.  "I 
know,  and  the  next  time  I  was  deter- 
mined to  fix  it  so  there  was  no  chance 
for  a  comeback.  My  wife  and  I  had 
agreed  that  there  was  too  much  trad- 
ing of  gifts  on  Christmas.  We  worked 
it  out  that  we  would  get  a  nice  present 
for  someone  we  hardly  knew.  We 
picked  out  the  Quincy  family  because 
they  had  had  more  than  their  share  of 
hard  luck  that  year.  It's  great  fun 
planning  a  present  for  someone  who 
can't  pay  it  back.  I  guess  we  spent 
five  dollars,  and  for  the  first  time  in 
my  life  I  really  enjoyed  giving  a 
present. 

"At  about  eleven  o'clock  we  slipped 
down  to  their  place  and  laid  the  present 
on  the  step,  knocked  on  the  door  and 
beat  it." 

"Did  it  work?"  I  asked. 

"It  backfired.  The  next  morning 
early,  Mr.  Quincy  was  up  to  our  place 
with  a  ten  dollar  present.  Couldn't 
afford  it,  either.     We  felt  terrible." 

I  had  often  wondered  why  the 
Quincys  were  such  good  friends  to 
Pete.    This  explained  it. 


'JVe  been  fighting  that 
book  for  years,  but 
it's  no  use" 


"You  see,"  Pete  continued,  "all  these 
times  I  had  been  giving  things,  and  I 
was  whipped  before  I  started.  I  de- 
cided to  give  something  that  was  good 
and  worth  something  but  couldn't  be 
returned  in  kind.  I  got  the  idea  from 
you,  George," 

"Me?" 

"Yes,  I  hope  you  won't  be  offended. 
I  didn't  know  then  that  you  had  liver 
trouble.  I  used  to  look  at  you  and 
say  to  my  wife,  'George  has  money 
and  a  store,  but  he  isn't  happy.  I 
wouldn't  trade  our  nothing  for  all 
his  wealth.  You  never  used  to  smile 
or  speak  when  I  passed  you,  and  we 
thought  you  were  stuck-up  and  stingy. 
So  I  decided  I  would  speak  and  say 
good  morning  every  time  I  saw  you. 
I  could  give  a  smile,  and  I  knew  you 
couldn't  return  it. 

"That  was  five  years  ago.  This 
morning  I  got  to  thinking,  and  I  knew 
I  was  whipped  again.  You  are  one 
of  the  best  friends  I  have,  and  you 
got  me  that  job  that  paid  so  well  that 
I've  saved  money  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life.  Then  you  told  me  how  to 
put  the  savings  into  calves  which 
would  soon  be  beef.  This  last  week 
I  sold  them  and  made  five  thousand 
clear." 

There  was  a  real  and  genuine  tear 
in  his  eye  now.  He  slipped  off  the 
counter  and  headed  for  home,  but  as 
he  went  through  the  door  he  was 
smiling. 

"Whipped  again,"  he  said,  "and  by 
a  confounded  book," 

557 


TOTAL   SUBSCRIPTIONS 


SOUTH  LOS  ANGELES  STAKE,  first  row  left  to  right:  President  William 
Noble  Waite;  Clifford  B.  Wright,  first  counselor  in  the  presidency; 
Harold  F.  Whittier,  second  counselor  in  the  presidency;  Marvin  E. 
Jacobson,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Hortense  Steed,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president. 

MOUNT  OGDEN  STAKE,  second  row:  President  Earl  S.  Paul;  James  T.- 
Underwood,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Clara  Price,  Y.W.M.I.A.  presi- 
dent; D.  Lyle  Wynn,  counselor  and  "Era"  director;  Alpha  Clark, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 

EMIGRATION  STAKE,  third  row:  President  George  A.  Christensen; 
George  LaMont  Richards,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Matilda  Gerrard, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  president;  Reuel  J.  Alder,  Y.M.M.I.A  "Era"  director; 
Vida    Fox   Clawson,    Y.W.M.I.A.    "Era"    director. 

OGDEN  STAKE,  fourth  row:  President  Laurence  S.  Burton;  David  E. 
Clarke,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Lynette  Taggart,  Y.W.M.I.A.  presi- 
dent; Joseph  Van  Drimmelen,  Y.M.I. A.  "Era"  director;  Beth  Oborn, 
Y.W.M.I.A.    "Era"    director. 

RIGBY  STAKE,  fifth  row:  President  George  Christensen;  William  J. 
Raymond,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  LaRue  Hunter,  Y.W.M.I.A.  president; 


Martin  Harris,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Katherine  Warner,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
"Era"  director. 


President   Wm.    Arthur 


tra     airecior. 
BEN   LOMOND   STAKE,    first   row   left   to  right: 

Budge;  Clarence  A.  Neuenschwander,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Flora 
R.  Cragun,  Y.W.M.I.A.  president;  Robert  R.  Hull,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era" 
director. 


Y.M.M.I.A. 
director. 

NORTH  DAVIS  STAKE,  second  row:  President  George  Harold  Holt; 
Wilmer  S.  Barlow,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  LaVon  H.  Reid,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president;  LeRoy  Sainsbury,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Drucilla  Moore, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  "Era"  director  (no  photo  available). 

LONG  BEACH  STAKE,  third  row:  President  Virgil  H.  Spongberg;  Bert 
Sheldon,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Dorothy  Barnes,  Y.W.M.I.A.  presi- 
dent; Clay  Miller,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Alta  Miller,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
"Era"  director. 


President   Martin    Elmer   Christen- 
'*^ndent;    Gayl    J.    Morris, 
,.,..!. A.    "Era"    director. 
INGLEWOOD    STAKE,    fifth    row:      President    E.    Garrett    Barlow;    Reldon 


COTTONWOOD   STAKE,   fourth   row:      President   Martin    Elmer   Christen- 
sen;   Marshall    K.    Brinton,    Y.M.M.I.A.    superintendent;    Gayl    J.    Morris, 
Y.W.M.I.A.    p-esident;    John    F.    Kikkert,    Y.M.M.I.A.    "Era"    director. 
INGLEWOOD    STAKE,    fifth    row:      President    E.    Garrett    Barlow;    Reldon 


LS  Jl     M(\L,  tllt.lt  IVTT.  I      iLJIULPI 

G.    Pinney,    Y.M.M.I.A.    superintendent    and   "Era' 
Peterson,  Y.W.M.I.A.  president  and  "Era"  director 


director;    Marion    V. 


66 


Modern  Missionary  Campaign"... 


T 


£$u  dokn   <=Jj.   Ljited 

BUSINESS  MANAGER 

his  is  a  report  to  Era  readers, 
Era  workers,  and  to  the  Church 
on  the  1949-1950  modern  mis- 
sionary campaign. 

More  copies  of  The  Improvement 
Era  are  now  going  into  homes  of 
members  of  the  Church  than  in 
any  year  in  Era  history.  The  mod- 
ern missionary  campaign  has  carried 
the  Era  into  many  homes  where 
it  has  not  previously  been  received 
558 


and  has  set  several  new  records  for 
achievement  by  wards,  stakes, 
branches,  and  missions  throughout 
the   Church. 

Space  limitations  make  it  impos- 
sible to  give  recognition  to  all  who 
have  made  outstanding  contribu- 
tions to  this  most  satisfactory  result, 
but  in  this  report  full  honors  are 
given  to  the  leaders  in  the  various 
groups. 

Citation  winners  in  missions  and 
stakes  include  many  familiar  names, 
but  some  new  ones  also  appear. 
These  are  the  missions  which  won 


signal  honors  in  the  campaign  and 
which  were  selected  to  receive  the 
new-type  Perma-Plaque  citations: 

Total   Subscriptions — Missions 

;  1.  'Southern  States,  4,221;  2.  *North 
Central  States,  1,068;  3.  Northwestern 
States,    1,013;    4.    Great   Lakes,    882; 
5.  Central  Atlantic  States,  836; 
(* Double  Citation  Winner) 

Percent  of  Quota — Missions 

1.  Southern  States,  652%;  2.  North 
Central  States,  501%;  3.  Western 
Canadian,  430%;  4.  Canadian  315%; 
5.  Central  Pacific,  305%; 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


s 

T 
A 
K 
E 

S 


PERCENT    OF    QUOTA 


PHOENIX  STAKE,  first  row  left  to  right:  President  Delbert  Leon 
Stapley;  Dow  Ostlund,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Edna  K.  Larson, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  president;  L.  L.  Driggs,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Mrs. 
Floyd  M.   Mack,   Y.W.M.I.A.   "Era"  director. 

LOS  ANGELES  STAKE,  second  row:  President  John  M.  Russon;  Varnell 
R.  Rozsa,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Erma  Ntelson,  Y.W.M.I.A.  presi- 
dent and  "Era"  director;  Harvey  H.  Sessions,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 
LETHBRIDGE  STAKE,  third  row:  President  Octave  W.  Ursenbach;  A. 
Delbert  Palmer,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Thelma  W.  Merrill,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president;  J.  Llewellyn,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Katie  Llewellyn, 
Y.W.M.I.A.     "Era"     director. 

SNOWFLAKE  STAKE,  fourth  row:  President  David  A.  Butler;  W.  Clark 
Gardner,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Lenora  P.  Hansen,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president;  Martin  D.  Bushman,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 
SOUTH  IDAHO  FALLS  STAKE,  fifth  row:  President  Cecil  E.  Hart; 
Leonard  Wasden,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Florence  Orme,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president;  James  A.  Hendricks,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Jetta  Hale, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 


MINIDOKA  STAKE,  first  row  left  to  right:  President  J.  Melvin 
Toone;  Spencer  W.  Toone,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Itha  Seedall, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  president;  Horace  M.  Hatch,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director; 
Afton    Hatch,    Y.W.M.I.A.    "Era"    director. 

FLORIDA  STAKE,  second  row:  President  Alvin  C.  Chace;  Thomas  A. 
Hill,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Vivienne  Woolley,  Y.W.M.I.A.  presi- 
dent; Elliott  B.   Woolley,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 

CHICAGO    STAKE,    third   row:    President    John   K.  Edmunds;    Thomas   0. 

Call,  Y.M.M.I.A.   superintendent;  Reeta  S.   Turner,  Y.W.M.I.A.   president; 

James  E.  Bradley,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director;  Dorothy  Christensen, 
Y.W.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 

SAN  DIEGO  STAKE,  fourth  row:  President  Wallace  W.  Johnson; 
Grant  B.  Hodgson,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Kay  Calder,  Y.W.M.I.A. 
president;  C.  W.  Greaves,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 
UNION  STAKE,  fifth  row:  President  C.  Lloyd  Walch;  Wiley  M. 
Nebeker,  Y.M.M.I.A.  superintendent;  Pearl  Bruce,  Y.W.M.I.A.  president; 
G.  J.  Bateman,  Y.M.M.I.A.  "Era"  director. 


Outstanding  Success 

Southern  States  Mission  —   South  los  Angeles  Stake 
Set  Highest  Marts  In  Era  History 


The  stakes  qualifying  for  top 
honors  are: 

Total  Subscriptions — Stakes 

1.  *  South  Los  Angeles  2,132;  2, 
*  Phoenix,  1,058;  3.*  Los  Angeles,  979; 
4.  Mt.  Ogden,  928;  5.  Emigration,  872; 
6.  *Lethbridge,  856;  7.  *Snowflake, 
733;  8.  Ogden,  713;  9.  *  South  Idaho 
Falls,  706;  10.  *Rigby,  703;  11.  Ben 
Lomond,   685;   12.  North  Davis,  681; 

(*  Double  Citation  Winner) 
JULY  1950 


13.  Long  Beach,  661;  14.  Cottonwood, 
660;  15.  Inglewood,  651. 

Percent    of    Quota — Stakes 

1.  South  Los  Angeles,  468%;  2. 
Phoenix,  290%;  3.  Los  Angeles,  271%; 
4.  Lethbridge,  233%;  5.  Snowflake, 
227%;  6.  South  Idaho  Falls,  226%; 
7.  Minidoka,  198%;  8.  Rigby,  195%; 
9.  Florida,  179%;  10.  Chicago,  178%; 
11.  San  Diego,  177%;  12.  Union, 
174%. 


The  listings  given  above  accen- 
tuate the  remarkable  achievements 
of  the  Southern  States  Mission  and 
South*  Los  Angeles  Stake,  and  to 
only  a  slightly  lesser  degree  the 
West  Minnesota  District  of  the 
North  Central  States  Mission. 

Southern  States  Mission  Wins 
Citation  Extraordinary 

Southern  States  Mission  set  new 
all-time  records  for  both  total  sub- 
scriptions in  stakes  and  missions 
and  percent  of  quota.  The  remark- 
able total  of  4,221  subscriptions 
went  far  beyond  any  previous  rec- 
ord and  carried  the  Era  into  more 
homes  than  have  ever  received  it  at 
any  time  in  the  past  in  that  terri- 
tory. 

(Continued  on  following  page) 

559 


SOUTHERN  STATES  MISSION,  first 
row,  left  to  right:  President  Albert 
Choules;  D.  Homer  Yarn,  first  coun- 
selor; Leslie  D.  Gleave,  second  coun- 
selor; George  J.  Kidd,  mission  "Era" 
director  and  mission  secretary;  Lor- 
raine Holmgren,  mission  "Era"  di- 
rector. 


NORTHWESTERN  STATES  MISSION, 
second  row:  President  Joel  Richards; 
Helen  Ernstrom,  mission  "Era"  director. 

GREAT  LAKES  MISSION,  third  row: 
President  Carl  C.  Burton;  Marjorie 
Burgener,  M.I. A.  supervisor  and  mis- 
sion "Era"  director. 


CENTRAL  ATLANTIC 
STATES  MISSION, 
fourth  row:  President  J. 
Robert  Price;  F.  M. 
Henderson,  mission 
"Era"  director;  Jane 
T.  Henderson,  mission 
"Era"  director. 


M 
I 
S 
S 
I 
0 
N 
S 


"MODERN  MISSIONARY  CAMPAIGN"-<c 


The  Southern  States  Mission 
percent  of  quota  (652%)  likewise 
set  a  new  all-Church  mark  for  both 
missions  and  stakes. 

Nine  mission  districts  out  of 
twelve  and  sixty-one  branches 
reached  the  Hall  of  Fame,  having 
the  Era  in  Every  Home.  This  is 
a  new  record  for  districts  in  any 
mission,  adding  to  the  laurels  al- 
ready won  by  the  Southern  States. 

To  this  historic  mission  in  the 
South  has  been  awarded  Citation 
Extraordinary  Number  One  For 
Missions,  a  new  honor  created  to 
recognize  an  unparalleled  achieve- 
ment. . 

South  Los  Angeles  Stake  Sets 
All-time  Record 

South  Los  Angeles  Stake,  se- 
lected to  receive  Citation  Extra- 
ordinary Number  One  For  Stakes, 
set  a  new  all-time  mark  for  total 
subscriptions  among  stakes  and 
finished  at  the  top  of  the  list  of 
stakes  in  percent  of  quota.  Al- 
though, like  the  Southern  States 
Mission,  South  Los  Angeles  has 
been  reduced  in  size  at  various  times 
by  substantial  margins,  it  set  an  all- 
Church  record  for  stakes  in  total 
readers  of  the  Era  regardless  of 
the  size  of  the  stake. 
560 


ontinued  from  preceding  page) 


South  Los  Angeles  also  added  to 
its  honors  by  having  every  ward  in 
the  stake  qualify  for  the  Hall  of 
Fame — the  largest  stake  ever  to 
reach  this  goal.  To  recognize 
properly  these  most  meritorious  ac- 
complishments among  stakes,  the 
Citation  Extraordinary  for  stakes 
was  developed. 

Leader  of  Leaders 

West  Minnesota  District  of 
North  Central  States  Mission  was 
awarded  the  coveted  Leader  of 
Leaders  citation  for  a  record  per- 
formance in  percent  of  quota,  ex- 
ceeding as  a  mission  district  any 
previous  efforts.  In  a  widely  scat- 
tered area  with  few  Church  families, 
non-member  readers  were  sought, 
with  most  gratifying  results.  Some 
of  the  local  units  exceeded  previous 
records  —  notably  Alexandria  — 
with  12,500%  of  quota. 

Hall   of   Fame   Breaks   all 
Records 

One  of  the  big  surprises  of  the 
modern  missionary  campaign  was 
the  remarkable  increase  in  the 
groups  in  the  Hall  of  Fame.  A 
total  of  eighty-three  groups  in  mis- 
sions and  stakes  qualified  for  this 
top-ranking  position  by  placing  the 


PERCENT  OF  QUOTA 
NORTH  CENTRAL 
STATES  MISSION,  first 
row,  left  to  right; 
President  John  B. 
Hawkes;  Howard  D. 
Millerberg,  M.I.  A.  di- 
rector and  mission 
"Era"  director;  Todd 
Cummings,  field  repre- 
sentative. 

WESTERN  CANADIAN 
MISSION,  second  row: 
President  Glen  G.  Fisher;  Glen  A. 
Christensen,  Y. M.M.I. A.  supervisor  and 
second  counselor  in  the  presidency; 
Lois  Clayton,  Y.W.M.I.A.  supervisor; 
lone  Lewis,  Y.W.M.I.A.  supervisor. 
CANADIAN  MISSION,  third  row:  Presi- 
dent Flayed  G.  Eyre;  Beth  Sorenson, 
mission  recorder. 
CENTRAL  PACIFIC  MISSION,  fourth 
row:    President    Melyin   A.    Weenig. 


Era  in  every  Latter-day  Saint 
home. 

More  and  more  each  year  it  is 
being  demonstrated  that  it  can  be 
done — that  the  Era  can  be  placed 
in  every  Latter-day  Saint  home. 
It  isn't  any  easy  thing  to  do.  No 
real  achievement  is  easy.  It  re- 
quires organization,  advance  plan- 
ning, and  above  all  a  success  atti- 
tude. 

One  stake,  many  wards,  and  a 
great  number  of  mission  districts 
and  branches  qualified  this  year, 
proving  that  such  accomplishment 
is  not  limited  to  any  group  or  area. 

Leaders  in  Hall  of  Fame  mem- 
bers were  the  South  Los  Angeles 
Stake  with  all  ten  wards,  Southern 
States  Mission  with  nine  districts 
and  sixty-three  branches,  West 
Minnesota  District  of  North  Cen- 
tral States  Mission  with  five 
groups,  Snowflake  Stake  with  five 
wards,  Phoenix  Stake  with  three, 
and  Idaho,  St.  George,  Teton, 
Mesa,  St.  Johns,  Young,  Minidoka, 
South  Idaho  Falls  Stake,  and  Cen- 
tral States  Mission  with  one  each. 

Congratulations  and  commenda- 
tions to  all  Hall  of  Fame  groups! 

Phoenix  Stake  Scores  High 

Here  are  the  honors  earned  by 

Phoenix  Stake  in  a  campaign  where 

(Continued  on  page  588) 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Fight  with 


& 


"1 


C^miiu  >_A/.  /4ep$on 


father,    Frederick    Hamblin, 
among   the   first   Latter- 


W I    was 

day   Saint  settlers  in  Alpine, 

Arizona.  He  was  always  a  pioneer, 
as  a  boy  in  Utah,  then  in  Arizona. 
He  loved  the  freedoms  of  the  moun- 
tains and  small  towns.  He  loved  to 
fish  and  hunt — that  was  his  sport 
and  recreation. 

One  fall  in  the  early  nineties,  the 
snow  came  early.  The  first  week 
in  November  a  heavy  snow  covered 
the  ground  to  a  depth  of  at  least 
a  foot  and  a  half  in  the  mountains, 
making  it  ideal  for  hunting,  as 
tracking  could  be  easily  done.  About 
noon  Father  saddled  his  best  horse, 
took  his  gun  and  a  belt  of  bullets, 
and  told  Mother  to  have  the  grease 
ready  for  fresh  venison. 

Some  five  or  six  miles  from  home 
he  came  upon  a  deer  track  which 
he  followed.  After  following  it 
for  half  a  mile  or  more,  he  saw  the 
track  of  a  huge  bear,  which  came 
from  another  direction  and  was  also 
following  the  deer.  He  decided  to 
follow  and  perhaps  get  both, 
especially  if  the  bear  overtook  the 
deer.  He  followed  about  four  miles 
before  he  saw  the  bear  had  given 
up  and  turned  into  a  thicket.  The 
sun  was  now  getting  low;  and  as 
Father  was  very  tired  from  the  con- 
tinual climb  uphill  in  deep  snow,  he 
decided  to  rest  a  little,  then  start 
back  to  his  horse  which  he  had  left 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  He 
sat  down  on  a  fallen  tree  to  rest 
but  soon  became  uneasy  and  had 
the  feeling  of  being  watched.  He 
looked  carefully  in  every  direction 
but  could  see  nothing  to  justify  that 
feeling.  Finally  he  arose  and  started 
down  the  mountain,  when  he  heard 
a  noise.  He  turned  and  saw  a  huge 
grizzly  bear  coming  out  of  the 
thicket  towards  him.  He  quickly 
leveled  his  gun  and  ;shot  the  bear, 
wounding  it  badly.     The  bear  ran 

JULY  1950 


RIZZLY 


HEAR 


up  the  mountainside,  and  Father 
followed,  thinking  it  would  soon 
die,  but  it  went  on  and  on.  Father 
was  very  tired  now  and  thought 
he  would  only  have  time  to  reach 
his  horse  before  dark,  so  he  gave  up 
the  chase  for  that  day.  In  those 
days  the  gun  held  only  one  bul- 
let at  a  time,  and  as  the  brush 
was  so  thick,  Father  took  the  bullet 
from  his  gun  to  be  sure  no  accident 
would  occur  in  going  down  the 
mountain. 

He  had  just  emptied  the  gun 
and  hadn't  yet  straightened  himself 
up  when  he  heard  a  terrible  snarl, 
and  in  an  instant  the  huge  beast  was 
upon  him,  striking  his  shoulder, 
its  sharp  claws  tearing  his  clothing 


and  his  flesh.  Father  used  the  gun 
as  a  club,  striking  the  bear  in 
the  face  with  all  his  might  with  lit- 
tle or  no  effect,  and  the  bear  strik- 
ing the  gun  to  ward  off  the  blows. 
Father  then  took  the  barrel  in  both 
hands,  a  hand  at  each  end  of  the 
barrel.  When  the  bear  attacked, 
he  struck  it  in  the  mouth  with  all 
his  strength,  breaking  several  of 
its  front  teeth  out.  He  tried  to 
force  the  end  of  the  gun  into  the 
bear's  mouth  but  could  not  do  it. 

The  angry  bear  kept  trying  to 
get  its  huge  forelegs  around  him, 
but  Father  strove  constantly  to 
avert  this  as  he  knew  one  squeeze 
of  those  powerful  legs  would  crush 
every  bone  in  his  chest.  It  is  im- 
possible to  tell  how  long  this  fierce 
struggle  lasted,  but  it  was  long 
enough  that  both  man  and  beast 
were  almost  exhausted. 

The  grizzly,  finding  he  was  un- 
able to  get  his  forelegs  around 
Father,  drew  back  his  huge  paw 
and  struck  at  Father's  head  with 
all  his  force.  Father  dodged,  but 
the  blow  hit  his  gun,  knocking  it 
several  feet  away,  leaving  him  en- 
tirely without  protection. 

Both  man  and  beast  were  work- 
ing to  keep  the  upper  hillside,  as 
that  gave  the  advantage.  Once 
Father's  heel  caught.  As  he  fell, 
he  could  feel  the  bear's  hot  breath 
in  his  face.  The  bear  had  struck 
Father's  right  hand  two  or  three 
{Concluded  on  page  594) 


.  ■  ■■'■"  ■ ■■'."    . ■■    ■    ■■  ■■'  ■■■  ■  .■■,:'     v  . 


B: 
■-•!:;.:■ 

10 
I. 


Hi 


pih; 


He  heard  a 

terrible  snarl,  and  in  a  second 

the  huge  beast  was  upon  him 


561 


1950 


Dm    /f futon  f\.  ^Jsfunter 

OF  THE  FIRST  COUNCIL  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

Conclusion 

San  Diego  was  the  next  point  to 
which  the  trek  headed.  West  of 
Yuma  in  the  California  desert 
the  caravan  passed  through  miles 
and  miles  of  sand  dunes.  A  hundred 
years  ago  the  Mormon  Battalion 
members  were  forced  to  tie  ropes 
to  their  wagons,  and  twenty  to 
thirty  men  would  help  their  oxen 
and  mules  pull  the  supplies  through 
that  difficult  terrain.  Early  in  this 
century  a  wooden  road  was  con- 
structed through  that  sand  country, 
part  of  which  can  still  be  seen  from 
the  modern  paved  highway. 

The  caravan  emerged  from  the 
sand  dunes  into  the  famous  Imperial 
Valley,  where  the  crops  of  lettuce 
and  other  produce  were  being  har- 
vested. While  there  the  trekkers 
took  time  out  to  drive  across  the 
border  from  Calexico,  California,  to 
Mexicali,  Mexico,  and  observe  for 
a  few  moments  our  neighbors  to 
the  south.  A  number  had  never 
been  in  Mexico,  and  so  this  proved 
to  be  an  interesting  experience. 

A  few  miles  east  of  San  Diego, 
just  as  the  caravan  was  about  to 
emerge  from  the  rugged  mountain 
range  where  their  predecessors  a 
hundred  years  ago  had  been  forced 
to  cut  a  passage  through  the  rocks 
with  ax,  pick,  and  crowbar  so  they 
could  take  their  wagons  and  equip- 
ment through,  the  trekkers  were  met 
by  some  of  the  officers  of  the  San 
Diego  chapter  of  the  Sons  of  Utah 
Pioneers  and  escorted  to  the  U.S. 
Grant  Hotel. 

After  a  delicious  banquet  in  the 
hotel  dining  room,  they  went  to  the 
State  Hall  where  a  program  was 
presented.  Addresses  were  given 
by  President  Wallace  W.  Johnson 
of  the  San  Diego  Stake;  LeRoy 
Nelson,  judge  advocate  of  the 
562 


0RM0N 


ATTALION 


S.U.P.;  Dr.  Grant  Lee  of  San 
Diego;  and  Milton  R.  Hunter.  Once 
again  Dorothy  Kimball  Keddington 
and  Alvin  Keddington  sang.  The 
evening's  entertainment  closed  with 
a  pageant  presented  by  the  San 
Diego  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Utah 
Pioneers,  depicting  some  of  the 
highlights  of  the  Mormon  Battalion 
march  of  one  hundred  years  ago; 
and  this  was  followed  by  a  square 
dancing  demonstration  by  the  Cor- 
rinne  dancers. 

The    next    day,    March    17,    the 
Battalion  members  in   full  uniform 


Battalion  arrived  on  July  29,  1847, 
after  completing  their  2,000-mile 
trek  from  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa. 

Following  the  raising  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  and  the  firing  of  salutes, 
a  program  was  held  in  the  open  air. 
In  his  speech  of  welcome,  Mayor 
Knox  of  San  Diego  commended  the 
integrity,  industry,  thrift,  honesty, 
and  virtue  of  the  Mormon  soldiers 
of  one  hundred  years  ago  and  told 
of  the  many  good  things  they  did 
for  the  city  and  people  of  San 
Diego.  Speeches  were  given  by  Leo 
J.  Muir,  Fred  E.  Curtis,  and  others, 


A  group  of  Mormon  lady   trekkers  climbing   the   hill  to  Presidio  Park,   San   Diego,   in   the   parade. 


paraded  through  fOld  Town,  San 
Diego.  The  procession  was  led  by 
the  U.S.  Marine  color  guard  and 
band.  The  mayor  of  San  Diego 
and  other  local  officials,  the  U.S. 
Navy  Band,  covered  wagons,  San 
Diego  riding  club,  the  buses  carry- 
ing the  lady  trekkers,  and  many 
private  cars  with  people  of  distinc- 
tion from  southern  California  were 
also  in  the  procession.  The  par- 
ade ended  at  Presidio  Park  where 
the  Mormon  Battalion  monument 
stands,  marking  the  spot  where  the 


and  Dorothy  Keddington  sang  "The 
Flag  Without  a  Stain." 

As  soon  as  the  program  was 
completed,  the  trekkers  began  their 
journey  toward  Los  Angeles.  En 
route  they  visited  the  San  Luis  Rey 
Mission,  a  historic  spot  of  interest 
because  It  was  there  the  Battalion 
first  sighted  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
evening  was  spent  in  unusual  gaiety 
at  the  Knott's  Berry  Farm.  After 
eating  a  delicious  chicken  dinner, 
a  program  was  held  at  which  Presi- 
dent George  Albert  Smith,  Gover- 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


TREK 


Mormon  Battalion 
trekkers    on    parade. 

Caravan  Queen 
Diane  Gould  pre- 
sents Governor  Earl 
Warren  with  a  twen- 
ty-six inch  statue 
portraying  the  part 
played  by  some  of 
the  Battalion  mem- 
bers in  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California 
in  1848.  This  statue 
was  created  by  the 
well-known  sculptor 
Av  a  r  d  Fairbanks, 
himself  a  member  of 
the  1950  commemora- 
tive trek. 


nor  J.  Bracken  Lee,  and  Major 
Richard  A.  Lambert  were  the  speak- 
ers. The  President  of  the  Church 
and  Utah's  governor  had  joined  the 
caravan  at  this  point. 

Saturday  morning  the  trekkers 
paraded  through  the  streets  of  Los 
Angeles  from  Hotel  Alexandra  to 
City  Hall.  There,  at  10  a.m.,  on 
the  site  of  old  Fort  Moore  where 
the  Mormon  Battalion  members 
were  mustered  out  of  service  on 
July  4,  1 847,  a  very  interesting  pro- 
gram was  presented.  Among  the 
speakers  were  Governor  Earl  War- 
ren of  California,  Governor  Lee, 
and  President  George  Albert  Smith. 
A  very  impressive  flag-raising  cere- 
mony was  conducted  on  the  spot 
where  the  original  Battalion  mem- 
bers had  erected  a  tall  flagpole  and 

JULY  1950 


mounted    it    with    the    Stars    and 
Stripes. 

Probably  the  highlight  of  this 
program  was  the  presentation  to 
Governor  Warren  of  a  twenty-six- 
inch  statue  portraying  the  part 
played  by  some  of  the  battalion 
members  in  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California  in  1848.  This  statue 
was  sculptured  by  Dean  Avard 
Fairbanks  and  was  received  with 
much  appreciation  by  the  governor 
of  California. 

Following  the  meeting  at  Los 
Angeles,  the  trekkers  headed  to- 
ward San  Bernardino  to  participate 
in  the  famous  National  Orange 
Show.  They  assembled  at  Pioneer 
Square  in  preparation  for  a  parade. 
Following  a  brief  program  and  a 
send-off  from  Governor  Warren, 
the  trekkers,  colorfully  garbed  in 
authentic  uniforms  and  dresses  of 
the  Mexican  war  period,  marched 
approximately  two  miles  to  the 
Orange  Show  grounds.  Included  in 
the  parade  were  the  governors  of 
Utah  and  California,  the  San  Diego 
Marine  Corps  recruit  depot  band, 
the  San  Bernardino  Valley  college 
band,  the  California  Centennial 
float,  Miss  Diane  Gould,  queen  of 
the  caravan,  and  other  notable  peo- 
ple. Thousands  and  thousands  of 
spectators  watched  the  parade. 

A  program  honoring  the  Mormon 
Battalion  and  the  part  played  by 
the  Latter-day  Saints  in  founding 
San  Bernardino  was  held  in  the 
Swing  Auditorium.  Speeches  were 
given  and  appropriate  music  ren- 
dered.     Several    thousand    people 


witnessed  the  event.  As  usual,  the 
seven-pound  copper  key  was  pre- 
sented to  the  mayor.  In  his  speech 
of  acceptance,  Mayor  Cunningham 
lauded  highly  the  520  Mormon  Pio- 
neer colonists  who  settled  San 
Bernardino  in  1851  and  laid  the 
foundation  for  that  great  city  which 
still  bears  the  stamp  placed  upon 
it  by  the  Latter-day  Saint  pioneers. 

As  evening  arrived,  the  trekkers 
and  hundreds  of  their  friends  as- 
sembled on  the  site  of  a  proposed 
San  Bernardino  Ward  chapel. 
There  they  were  served  dinner  and 
enjoyed  another  program.  By 
10:00  p.m.  the  festivities  closed, 
and  the  nine  buses  headed  toward 
Utah.  All  who  could  sleep  enjoyed 
themselves  while  the  buses  rolled 
along  the  modern  highway,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  passengers 
waited  for  morning  to  arrive. 

One  of  the  two  most  important 
events  of  interest  that  occurred  on 
Sunday  was  the  holding  of  Sunday 
School  in  each  of  the  buses  as  the 
journey  continued  homeward.  Dur- 
ing several  hours'  time,  vital  doc- 
trinal questions  were  discussed.  The 
other  event  was  the  holding  of  the 
final  program  of  the  trek  while 
dinner  was  being  served  at  EI  Es- 
calante  Hotel  in  Cedar  City.  The 
local  chapter  of  the  S.U.P.  had 
arranged  a  very  interesting  enter- 
tainment which  was  a  fitting  climax 
to  the  week's  trek.  The  trekkers 
arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City  Sunday 
evening. 

I  wish  to  pay  tribute  to  the  group 
of  men  and  women  who  composed 
this  caravan.  Throughout  the  entire 
course  of  the  trek  every  one  of  them 
conducted  himself  or  herself  in  a 
way  worthy  of  the  highest  commen- 
dation. The  same  standards  that 
were  upheld  by  the  Mormon  Bat- 
talion members  of  1846-1847  were 
also  maintained  by  all  the  modern 
trekkers.  Wherever  they  went, 
they  did  credit  to  the  Sons  of  Utah 
Pioneers,  to  the  state  of  Utah,  and 
to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints.  All  those  who 
participated  in  any  way  to  direct 
the  programs  and  activities  of  the 
trek  are  to  be  complimented.  A 
great  amount  of  good  will  result 
from  this  trek.  It  was  a  huge  suc- 
cess and  will  be  remembered  in 
years  to  come  as  a  noteworthy  event 
of  the  year  1950. 

563 


T&c  Palmyra.  MewYorkdi 


-At  Church  ^Jsfidtor, 


"/ 


rea 


i 


MARTIN    HARP.iS    FARMV 

cm 

aivn  smith's 

ORAVI.  -, 

Methodist  chupch 


W  SBiTI  PIAN   CHURCH 


,— l_^LH0DI5T  MyBlBBI  XCHANCE  BOfLPiNG 

PI  MILES  CHURCH-  "Impfu1-  TA1MYRA 


I  MILE 

dOSEPf-    'SMITH 
SACR£V  QRQ\?t* 


3~~ 


CHURCH 

-J£niL    ('OW.VSHIp) *  PALMYRA 

nw.\  (romyi/r) ttANCHisrER 

AI'.MINCTOH   SCHOOL 


TRAVEL  SERVICE 

v-5y  sfohn    *Jj.    Lj'de5, 


IV 

The  Improvement  Era  Church 
History  Travel  Service  this 
month  takes  us  to  one  of  the 
richest  areas  in  interest  and  infor- 
mation. This  section  truly  is  the 
"Cradle  of  Mormonism."  While 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter-day  Saints  was  not  actually 
organized  here,  it  may  well  have 
been,  as  the  events  which  led  to 
its  formation  took  place  within  a 
short  distance  of  Palmyra,  in 
Wayne  County,  New  York. 

Within  that  area  are  these  im- 
portant places  connected  with  early 
Church  history: 

1.  The  village  of  Palmyra  where  the 
Joseph  Smith  family  lived  when 
they  first  moved  to  New  York  State 

2.  The  Joseph  Smith  farm  in  the 
Town  of  Manchester  where  the 
Smith  family  located  on  a  one- 
hundred  acre  tract  of  woodland 
which   they   contracted   to   buy 

3.  The  Sacred  Grove  on  the  Joseph 
Smith     farm     where     the     heavens 

r  were  opened  and  modern-day  rev- 
elation began 

4.  The    Hill    Cumorah     (or    Ramah) 
i  three  miles  from  the  Sacred  Grove 

where  the  Book  of  Mormon  plates 
were  delivered  to  the  young  Proph- 
et   Joseph     Smith     by    the     Angel 
,  Moroni 

5.  The  Martin  Harris  farm  in  the 
Town     (not    village)     of    Palmyra 

564 


which  was  mortgaged  for  three 
thousand  dollars  to  secure  pay- 
ment for  the  printing  of  the  first 
edition  of  five  thousand  copies  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon 

6.  The  old  Exchange  Building  in 
which  the  first  edition  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  was  printed,  coming 
from  the  presses  March  26,  1830, 
eleven  days  before  the  Church 
organized 

7.  The  grave  of  Alvin  Smith  in  the 
first   Palmyra   Cemetery 

The  strip  map  accompanying  this 
article  shows  the  relative  location 
of  these  various  places.  Those  who 
have  believed  that  the  Sacred  Grove 
and  Hill  Cumorah  will  be  both  on 
the  Joseph  Smith  farm  were  sur- 
prised to  find  that  they  are  three 
miles  apart.  The  attempts  also  to 
clear  up  the  widespread  confusion 
regarding  the  village  of  Manchester 
and  the  Town  (township)  of  Man- 
chester as  well  as  the  confusion 
connected  with  the  town  and  village 
of  Palmyra. 

Treating  these  interesting  and  im- 
portant places  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  listed,  the  discussion  begins 
with  Palmyra.  The  exact  date  when 
the  Smiths  moved  into  the  village 
is  not  known,  but  it  seems  to  be 
generally  accepted  as  having  been 
in  the  year  1816.  Just  where  this 
family  lived  in  Palmyra  Village 
likewise  is  not  known.  As  they 
owned  no  property  there,  no  deed 
records  or  other  written  evidence 
exists.  As  there  seems  to  be  no 
accepted  tradition  in  the  village  as 
to  the  location,  there  appears  to  be 
no  way  to  determine  the  facts. 

When  they  moved  from  Palmyra 
it  was  to  the  farm  they  had  con- 
tracted to  buy,  just  over  the  line 
of  the  Town  (township)  of  Palmyra 
into  the  Town  ( township )  of  Man- 
chester. Although  the  village  of 
Manchester  is  more  than  five  miles 
away,  there  are  many  who  believe 
that  the  Smith  farm  was  in  the 
village  rather  than  in  the  town.1 


lrrhe  word  town  in  New  York  and  some  other 
states  including  New  England  is  the  legal  and 
official    word    for    township. 


BUSINESS    MANAGER 


W^hile  Palmyra  is  now  in  Wayne 
County,  and  Manchester  is  in  On- 
tario County,  they  were  both  in 
Ontario  County  when  the  Smiths 
moved  to  the  farm.  Wayne  County 
was  "erected,"  as  history  indicates, 
in  1823. 

On  the  Joseph  Smith  farm  is  the 
Sacred  Grove.  That  is,  we  call  it 
by  that  name  now.  When  the 
Smiths  lived  there  and  for  many 
years  afterward,  it  was  called  the 
"woodlot."  When  farmers  cleared 
land  in  that  area,  it  was  the  custom 
to  leave  from  six  to  eight  acres  of 
woodland  from  which  to  supply 
their  needs  for  firewood,  fences,  etc. 
On  many  farms  the  "woodlots"  are 
still  maintained. 

To  reach  the  Joseph  Smith  farm 
from  Palmyra,  the  shortest  route 
is  from  the  "four  corners"  west  to 
Stafford  Street,  three  blocks,  then 
south  slightly  over  two  miles.  Signs 
on  the  street  and  on  the  barn 
identify  the  farm.  A  sign  at  the 
home  also  indicates  the  location  of 
the  Sacred  Grove.  Church  members 
occupy  the  old  Smith  home  and 
operate  the  farm. 

From  Hill  Cumorah  to  the  farm 
the  route  is  approximately  a  mile 
north  to  the  first  street  ( Armington 
Road)  running  west  (left),  then 
one  mile  west  to  the  first  road  run- 
ning north  (right),  and  one  mile 
to  the  farm. 

While  the  Smith  family  lived  in 
a  log  house  they  had  built  on  the 
newly  acquired  property,  in  the 
spring  of  1820,  the  boy  Joseph,  then 
in  his  "fifteenth  year,"  his  birth 
having  occurred  in  December  23, 
1805,  went  to  the  woodlot  on  his 
father's  farm  to  pray.  When  he 
came  out  of  that  grove,  he  knew 
more  about  the  personality  of  God 
than  any  other  person  living  on 
the  earth. 

As  the  years  passed,  the  woodlot, 
although  used  by  several  successive 
owners,  seems  to  have  been  very 
well-preserved.  Soon  after  1865, 
it  is  reported,  the  owner  forbade 
{Continued  on  page  585) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


MTTTINfi  for  11-year-old  boys 


a 


When  Lord  Baden-Powell 
wanted  to  make  sure  that  the 
many  ideas  he  had  developed 
for  Boy  Scouts  would  work,  he  took 
a  group  of  twenty  boys  with  him 
to  Brownsea  Island  in  the  English 
Channel.  There,  in  1907,  he  set 
up  the  first  Scout  camp. 

Since  that  original  camp,  scout- 
ing has  been  an  outdoor  program. 
The  slogan  "  'outing'  is  ninety  per- 
cent of  scouting"  has  developed  as 
a  result  of  this  ideal.  The  chief 
Scout  of  the  world  put  it  in  another 
way:  "Nature  study  will  show  you 
how  full  of  beautiful  and  wonderful 
things  God  has  made  the  world  for 
you  to  enjoy,"  he  said,  just  before 
his  eighty-fourth  birthday  in  1941, 
in  his  last  message  to  Scouts. 

When  we  think  about  the  place 
the  outdoor  program  is  supposed  to 
have  in  the  lives  of  our  boys,  and 
then  consider  what  it  actually  is, 
we  realize  that  we  have  a  long  way 
to  go  in  reaching  the  ideal.  The 
average  Scout  has  less  than  one 
week  in  camp  each  year.  A  few 
units  take  regular  afternoon  and 
week-end  trips,  but  they  are  the 
exception.  A  big 
part  of  the  bal- 
ance of  regular 
scouting  is  limited 
to  one  hour  in- 
doors on  Tuesday 
night. 

When  the  First 
Presidency  made 
the  new  eleven-year-old  scouting 
program  a  daytime  activity,  they 
probably  did  more  than  anything 
else  that  has  ever  been  done  to  give 
Latter-day  Saint  boys  the  "outing" 
experience  of  scouting.  If  the  pro- 
gram is  carried  out  as  suggested  by 
the  First  Presidency  of  the  Church 
and  developed  by  the  scouting 
committee  of  the  Y.M.M.I.A.,  this 
experience  will  be  enjoyed  not  only 
by  the  new  young  Scouts  but  also 
by  all  members  of  the  troop. 

The  plan  is  to  have  a  troop  meet- 
JULY  1950 


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President  David  O.  McKay  and  Elder  Ezra  Taft  Benson  welcome  into  scouting  an  eleven-year-old. 


"The  ideals  of  scouting,  like 
the  principles  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  are  intended  to 
make  boys  better  companions, 
more  useful  citizens,  and  hap- 
pier individuals." 

— President  George  Albert  Smith 


ing  in  the  daytime,  on  a  weekday 
afternoon  or  on  Saturday  at  an 
hour  to  be  determined  by  the 
bishop,  M.I.A.  superintendent,  and 
scoutmaster;  at  an 
hour  not  conflict- 
ing with  the  Pri- 
mary meeting 
hour.  This  will  be 
the  specified  time 
for  boys  of  eleven 
to  meet.  It  would 
be  ideal  for  this 
meeting  to  develop  into  a  regular 
activity  period  for  all  members  of 
the  troop. 

Because  this  meeting  is  held  in 
the  daytime,  most  of  the  year  it 
could  be  held  out-of-doors.  Units 
could  conduct  their  business  and 
indoor  activities  on  Tuesday  night 
but  supplement  this  with  cooking, 
tracking,  hiking,  and  the  dozens 
of  other  outdoor  activities  during 
the  daytime  meeting. 

There  are  several  problems  that 
have  to  be  met  to  attain  this  ideal 
situation.    But  with  a  little  planning 


on  the  part  of  bishops  and  ward 
Mutual  workers,  they  can  be 
solved. 

The  biggest  problem  is  leader- 
ship. In  some  cases  the  scout- 
master will  be  in  a  position  to  take 
the  responsibility  and  actually  do 
the  work  of  the  new  program. 
Where  this  is  not  possible,  he 
should  be  given  a  qualified,  adult 
assistant.  This  man  should  be 
trained  for  the  job.  This  will  be 
done  through  the  cooperation  of 
the  stake  M.I.A.  and  the  local 
councils. 

Changes  always  present  prob- 
lems. They  are  a  challenge  to 
leadership  and  the  ability  to  adapt 
and  organize.  We  are  confident 
that  our  loyal  stake  and  ward 
leaders,  having  been  informed  of 
this  decision  by  our  leaders  and  the 
advantages  to  be  gained  through  it, 
will  give  their  full  support  to  the 
announced  program  of  the  Church, 
and  that  L.D.S.  leadership  in  the 
program   will    continue. 

{Concluded  on  page  587) 

565 


Part   VII 

1BN  Qutaiba,  in  a  famous  work  on 
poetry,  quoted  a  great  desert 
poet,  Abu  Sakhr,  as  saying  that 
nothing  on  earth  brings  verses  so 
readily  to  mind  as  the  sight  of  run- 
ning water  and  wild  places.261  This 
applies  not  only  to  springs,  of  course, 
but  to  all  running  water.  Thomas 
recounts  how  his  Arabs  upon  reach- 
ing the  Umm  al-Hait  hailed  it  with 
a  song  in  praise  of  "the  continuous 
and  flowing  rain,"  whose  bounty 
filled  the  bed  of  the  wady,  "flowing 
along  between  sand  and  stream 
course.  .  .  .  "262  Just  so  Lehi  holds 
up  as  the  most  admirable  of  ex- 
amples "this  river,  continually  run- 
ning .  .  .  ";  for  to  the  people  of  the 
desert  there  is  no  more  miraculous 
and  lovely  thing  on  earth  than  con- 
tinually running  water.  In  the  most 
stirring  episode  of  Saint-Exupery's 
Wind,  Sand,  and  Stars,  the  Arab 
chiefs  who  view  the  wonders  of 
Paris  with  cool  indifference  burst 
into  cries  of  devout  rapture  at  the 
sight  of  a  torrent  in  the  Alps.283 
When  the  Beni  Hilal  stopped  at 
their  fiist  oasis,  the  beauty  of  it 
and  the  green  vegt/jition  reminded 
them  again  of  the  homeland  they 
had  left,  "and  they  wept  greatly 
remembering  it."2'"  It  was  because 
Laman  and  Lemuel  were  loud  in 
lamenting  the  loss  of  their  pleasant 
"land  of  Jerusalem  .  .  .  and  their 
precious  things"  (I  Nephi  2:11) 
that  their  father  was  moved  to  ad- 
dress them  on  this  occasion. 

If  the  earliest  desert  poems  were 
songs  inspired  by  the  fair  sight  of 
running  water,  no  one  today  knows 
the  form  they  took.  That  can  only 
be  conjectured  from  the  earliest 
known  form  of  Semitic  verse.  This 
is  the  saf ,  a  short  exhortation  or 
injunction  spoken  with  such  solem- 
nity and  fervor  as  to  fall  into  a  sort 
of  chant.  Examples  would  be  magi- 
cal incantations,  curses,  and  the 
formal  pronouncements  of  teachers, 
priests,  and  judges.265  From  the 
earliest  times  the  saf  was  the  form, 
in  which  inspiration  and  revelation 
announced  themselves."266  Though 
566 


EHI  ■  ™  DESERT 


J 


the  speaker  of  the  saf  did  not  aim 
consciously  at  metrical  form,  his 
words  were  necessarily  more  than 
mere  prose,  and  were  received  by 
their  hearers  as  poetry.  The  saj'  had 
the  effect  of  overawing  the  hearer 
completely  and  was  considered  ab- 
solutely binding  on  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,267  its  aim  be- 
ing to  compel  action.268 

Lehi's  words  to  his  sons  take  just 
this  form  of  short,  solemn,  rhythmi- 
cal appeal.  The  fact  that  the  speech 
to  Laman  exactly  matches  that  to 
his  brother  shows  that  we  have  here 
such  a  formal  utterance  as  the  saf. 
The  proudest  boast  of  the  desert 
poet  is,  "I  utter  a  verse  and  after 
it  its  brother."  for  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  poetic  art  was  to  have 
two  verses  perfectly  parallel  in  form 
and  content;  few  ever  achieved  this, 
the  usual  verse  being  followed  at 
best  by  a  "cousin"  and  not  a 
brother.268  Yet  Lehi  seems  to  have 
carried  it  off.  Of  the  moral  fervor 
and  didactic  intent  of  his  recitation 
there  can  be  no  doubt;  the  fact 
that  Nephi  recounts  the  episode  in 
a  record  in  which  there  is,  as  he 
says,  only  room  for  great  essentials, 
shows  what  a  deep  impression  it 
made  upon  him. 

In  addressing  his  sons  in  what 
looks  like  a  little  song,  Lehi  is  do- 
ing just  what  Isaiah  does  when  he 
speaks  to  Israel  in  a  shirat  dodi, 
"a  friendly  chant,"  a  popular  song 
about  a  vine  which,  once  the 
hearer's  attention  has  been  won, 
turns  into  a  very  serious  moral 
tirade.270  On  another  occasion,  as 
we  have  noted,  he  employs  the 
popular  figure  of  the  olive  tree.  The 
stock  opening  line  of  the  old  desert 
poems  is,  "O  my  two  friends!"  an 
introduction  which,  says  Ibn  Qutai- 
ba, should  be  avoided,  "since  only 
the  ancients  knew  how  to  use  it 
properly,  uniting  a  gentle  and 
natural  manner  with  the  grandiose 
and  magnificent."2'1  Lehi's  poem  is 
an   example   of   this:    he   addresses 


his  two  sons  separately  but  with 
the  vocative  O!  and  describes  the 
river  and  valley  in  terms  of  unsur- 
passed brevity  and  simplicity  and  in 
the  vague  and  sweeping  manner  of 
the  real  desert  poets,  of  whom  Bur- 
ton says,  "there  is  a  dreaminess  of 
idea  and  a  haze  thrown  over  the 
object,  infinitely  attractive,  but  in- 
describable."272 

According  to  Richter,  the  best 
possible  example  of  the  primitive 
Arabic  qasid  is  furnished  by  those 
old  poems  in  which  one's  beloved 
is  compared  to  a  land  "in  which 
abundant  streams  flow  down  .  .  . 
with  rushing  and  swirling,  so  that 
the  water  overflows  every  evening, 
continually.  "*  Here  the  "contin- 
ually flowing"  water  is  compared  to 
the  person  addressed,  as  in  Lehi's 
"song"  to  Laman.  The  original 
qasid,  the  same  authority  avers, 
was  built  around  the  beseeching 
( werbenden,  hence  the  name 
qasid)  motif,  not  necessarily  erotic 
in  origin,  as  some  think,  but  dealing 
with  praise  of  virtue  ( Tugendlob ) 
in  general.27*  Ibn  Qutaiba  even 
claims  that  the  introductory  love 
theme  was  merely  a  device  to  gain 
the  attention  of  male  listeners  and 
was  not  at  all  the  real  stuff  of  the 
poem.27"  The  standard  pattern  is 
a  simple  one:  (a)  the  poet's  at- 
tention is  arrested  by  some  impres- 
sive natural  phenomenon,  usually 
running  water;  (b)  this  leads  him 
to  recite  a  few  words  in  its  praise, 
drawing  it  to  the  attention  of  a  be- 
loved companion;  and  ( c )  making 
it  an  object  lesson  for  the  latter, 
who  is  urged  to  be  like  it.  Burton 
gives  a  good  example:  at  the  sight 
of  the  Wady  al-Akik  the  nomad 
poet  is  moved  to  exclaim, 

O  my  friend,  this  is  Akik,  then  stand  by  it, 
Endeavoring   to  be   distracted  by   love,    if 
not  really  a  lover. 

This  seems  to  be  some  sort  of  love 
song,  albeit  a  peculiar  one,  and  some 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


— i5u  ^Jstuak    rlibteu,  J-^h.  *Jj. 


t> 


ASSOCIATE    PROFESSOR 

HISTORY    AND    RELIGION 

BRIGHAM    YOUNG    UNIVERSITY 


In  modern  Palestine  precious  water 
is  lifted  from  ancient  wells  by  this 
picturesque  "donkey-power  pump,"  a 
strongly  built  wooden  wheel  which 
operates  an  endless  chain  of  clay 
buckets. 

—Photograph    by    Adelbert    Bartlett 


have  claimed  that  all  the  old  qasids 
were  simply  love  songs.278  But 
Burton  and  his  Arabs  know  the 
real  meaning,  "the  esoteric  meaning 
of  this  couplet."  which  quite  escapes 
us: 

Man!  This   is  a  lovely   portion  of  God's 

creation: 
Then  stand  by  it,  and  here  learn  to  love 

the      perfections      of      thy      Supreme 

Friend.277 

Compare  this  with  Lehi's  appeal  to 
Lemuel : 

O  that  thou  mightest  be  like  unto  this 
valley,  firm  and  steadfast, 

And  immovable  in  keeping  the  command- 
ments of  the  Lord! 

Note  the  remarkable  parallel:  in 
each  case  the  poet,  a  wanderer  in 
the  desert,  is  moved  by  the  sight 
of  a  pleasant  valley;  he  calls  the 
attention  of  his  beloved  companion 
to    the    view,    and    appeals    to    his 

JULY  1950 


friend  to  learn  a  lesson  from  the 
valley  and  "stand  by  it,"  firm  and 
unshakable  in  the  love  of  the  ways 
of  the  Lord.  Let  us  list  briefly  the 
exacting  conditions  fulfilled  by 
Nephi's  account  of  his  father's 
qasids,  conditions  fulfilled  likewise 
by  the  earliest  known  desert  poems. 

( 1 )  They  are  Brunnen  —  or 
Quellenlieder,  as  the  Germans  call 
them,  that  is,  songs  inspired  by  the 
sight  of  water  gushing  from  a  spring 
or  running  down  a  valley. 

(2)  They  are  addressed  to  one 
or  (usually)  two  traveling  compan- 
ions. 

( 3 )  They  praise  the  beauty  and 
the  excellence  of  the  scene,  calling 
it  to  the  attention  of  the  hearer  as 
an  object  lesson. 

(4  The  hearer  is  urged  to  be 
like  the  thing  he  beholds.278 

( 5 )  The  poems  are  recited  ex- 
tempore on  the  spot  and  with  great 
feeling. 


( 6 )  They  are  very  short,  and  one 
verse  should  be  followed  by  its 
"brother,"  making  a  perfectly 
matched  pair.279 

Here  we  have  beyond  any  doubt 
all  the  elements  of  a  situation  of 
which  no  westerner  in  1830  could 
have  had  the  remotest  conception. 
Nephi  has  described  the  very  situa- 
tion in  which  the  great  men  of  the 
desert  were  once  long  ago  wont  to 
speak  the  words  that  made  their 
names  immortal  among  the  nomads 
and  scholars  of  a  later  generation. 
And  the  words  they  uttered  were, 
to  the  best  of  our  knowledge,  of 
exactly  the  same  cast  and  content 
as  those  spoken  by  Lehi,  who  now 
stands  before  us  as  something  of 
a  poet,  as  well  as  a  great  prophet 
and  leader.  This  is  a  reminder  that 
in  the  world  in  which  Lehi  was 
moving,  those  three  offices  had  to  go 
together. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  there 
is  no  real  poetry  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon — no  real  English  poetry, 
that  is.  By  the  same  token  there 
is  no  real  Danish  or  Russian  poetry. 
The  explanation  of  this  grave  defect 
is  a  simple  one:  If  there  were  any 
good  poetry  in  the  book,  it  would 
give  just  cause  for  suspicion,  for 
Burton,  even  while  praising  the 
matchless  genius  of  the  desert  poets, 
is  careful  to  point  out  that  they  are 
utterly  "destitute  of  the  poetic  taste, 
as  we  define  it."  (Italics  author's.)281 
To  Lehi's  "literary"  critics  we  need 
only  reply  that  its  authors  were 
never  supposed  to  have  composed 
in  English  or  Danish  or  Russian. 
The  same  literary  critics  may  af- 
firm with  equal  confidence  that  there 
is  no  good  literature  in  Mutanabbi 
or  the  Kitab-al-Aghani,  not  one  of 
whose  vast  store  of  poems  has  ever 
been  done  into  great  or  even  good 
English  verse.  Yet  those  who  know 
these  books  best  insist  that  they 
represent  the  high  point  not  only  in 
Arabic  but  in  all  poetry. 

As  if  to  prove  that  no  westerner 
could  possibly  have  dreamed  up 
Nephi's  account,  we  are  challenged 
by  the  remarkable  expression,  "like 
unto  this  valley,  firm  and  steadfast, 
and  immovable.  .  .  ."  Who  west  of 
Suez  would  ever  think  of  such  an 
image?  At  the  very  least  the  proof- 
reader should  have  caught  such  a 
howler,  which  should  certainly 
have  been  corrected  in  subsequent 
editions;  for  we,  of  course,  know 
(Continued  on  page  587) 

567 


Melchizedek  Priesthood  Reports 

Tn      analyzing      the      Melchizedek 
Priesthood      quarterly      reports 
many  conditions  reported,  obvious- 
ly, are  not  correct. 

Under  the  first  part  of  Question 
5,  "Number  Living  Away  From 
Home,"  many  reports  show  "None." 
On  the  same  report  where  none 
are  shown  away  from  home  the  sec- 
ond part  of  the  question  shows 
there  have  been  from  one  to  twenty- 
five  letters  written  to  those  away 
from  home. 

In  Question  8,  "Number  Using 
Tobacco  or  Liquor,  or  Both," 
usually  a  small  number  is  reported. 
In  the  second  part  of  the  question, 
"Number  of  These  Visited  During 
the  Quarter,"  there  are  shown  in 
various  reports  so  many  visits  that 
surely  the  brethren  visited  should 
feel  highly  honored  having  so  much 
attention  paid  to  them.  In  one  in- 
stance the  report  showed  only  one 
user  of  tobacco  and  liquor  in  the 
quorum,  but  it  also  showed  seventy- 
three  visits  to  that  one  person  dur- 
ing the  quarter,  or  practically  one 
visit  every  day.  In  another  in- 
stance there  were  no  users  of  to- 
bacco or  liquor,  but  thirteen  visits 
were  made. 

Where  there  are  more  than  one 
quorum  of  elders  or  seventy,  the 
record  for  each  individual  quorum 
should  be  shown  in  the  columns  on 
the  right  half  of  the  report,  with 
the  totals  for  each  group  entered 
in  the  total  columns  for  the  seven- 
ty and  elders.  Some  stakes  have 
failed  to  show  the  information  for 
each  individual  quorum.  Others 
have  crowded  it  on  one  sheet. 
Where  there  are  so  many  quorums 
two  sheets  should  be  used.  Addi- 
tional forms  are  mailed  to  each 
stake,  where  there  are  sufficient 
quorums  to  justify  more  than  one 
sheet,  and  such  forms  are  always 
available  upon  request. 

On  the  annual  confidential  re- 
568 


port  many  quorums  failed  to  report 
correctly  quorum  finances.  Usually 
this  is  because  the  amount  on  hand 
as  of  December  31  is  not  carried 
forward  to  the  new  report  as  the 
amount  on  hand  January  1 .  The 
amount  on  hand  at  the  end  of  the 
year  must  necessarily  be  the  same 
as  the  amount  on  hand  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  following  year. 

Quorum  and  stake  secretaries  and 
auditors  are  encouraged  to  exercise 
great  care  in  preparing  these  reports 
so  the  correct  information  may  be 
shown. 


When  Should  Members  Be 


"Deports  for  the  quarter  which 
ended  March  31,  1950,  reflect 
great  improvement  in  the  activities 
of  some  quorums,  usually  the  result 
of  sufficient  presidency  meetings. 

Others  not  holding  so  many 
presidency  meetings  report  their 
activities  correspondingly  low. 
However,  some  quorums  leave  this 
question  unanswered,  and  in  some 
instances  show  that  no  presidency 
meetings  were  held  during  the  entire 
quarter.  Leaders  are  usually  chosen 
by  inspiration  from  our  Father  in 
heaven,  but  after  being  chosen  it's 
up  to  the  leaders  to  carry  on.  These 
leaders  cannot  properly  keep  in 
touch  with  the  conditions  of  the 
quorum  nor  plan  for  its  improve- 
ment if  regular  and  frequent  meet- 
ings are  not  held.  Where  such 
conditions  exist  stake  presidents 
and  the  stake  Melchizedek  Priest- 
hood committees  should  give  every 
assistance. 

Some  quorums  show  an  encourag- 
ing number  of  welfare  projects  and 
quorum  socials.  Others  show  very 
few  and,  in  many  instances,  report 
"None."  These  activities  are  most 
important  if  we  are  to  build  unity 
and  love  for  one  another.    The  quo- 


rum which  fails  to  take  advantage 
of  this  activity  for  building  stronger 
brotherhood  and  love  for  its  fellow 
men  is  missing  an  important  oppor- 
tunity. 

Many  secretaries  are  still  using 
the  old  forms  which  have  been  ob- 
solete since  December  31,  1949. 
This  results  in  delay,  since  it  is 
necessary  to  return  the  old  report 
with  request  for  the  information 
called  for  on  the  new  form.  The 
new  record  books  were  sent  to  all 
stakes  early  in  January  1950,  but 
we  find  in  some  instances  they  have 
not  yet  been  distributed  to  the  quo- 
rum or  group  secretaries,  nor  to  the 
secretary  of  the  stake  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  committee. 

In  some  instances  reports  have 
not  been  submitted  by  quorums,  so 
that  a  stake  may  be  only  partially 
reported.  Others  send  their  reports 
too  late  to  be  included  in  the  com- 
bined report  for  the  Church. 

The  stake  Melchizedek  Priest- 
hood committee  is  responsible  for 
the  prompt  submission  of  reports. 
This  committee  should  have  them 
audited  carefully  for  correctness.  It 
is  also  the  responsibility  of  this  com- 
mittee to  encourage  quorum  leaders 
and  members  and,  where  conditions 
exist,  as  shown  above,  quorums  and 
secretaries  will  appreciate  the  wis- 
dom and  assistance  of  the  stake 
committee. 


Quorum  Activities  Reflected  In 
Quarterly  Reports 

HThere  still  remains  a  question  in 
the  minds  of  some  secretaries 
as  to  when  members  should  be 
marked  present  at  weekly  quorum  or 
group  meetings  and  when  they 
should  be  excused  because  of  other 
Church  work. 

Question  No.  2  of  the  quarterly 
stake  Melchizedek  Priesthood  re- 
port reads: 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


"Average  present  in  person  at 
weekly  priesthood  meetings" 

Question  No.  3  of  th**  same  report 
reads: 

"Number  engaged  in  other 
Church  work  during  time  of  weekly 
priesthood  meeting  (exclusive  of 
those  living  away  from  home)" 

Usually  various  quorum  and 
group  meetings  are  held  in  the  ward 
at  the  same  time.  Opening  exercises 
are  held  prior  to  these  weekly  priest- 
hood meetings  under  the  direction 
of  the  bishop  or  branch  president. 
In  these  exercises  there  are  general- 
Iv  singing,  prayer,  and  such  an- 
nouncements as  the  presiding  au- 
thority may  deem  wise.  This  is  not 
part  of  the  priesthood  meeting  as 
referred  to  in  question  two  of  the 
quarterly  report.  This  is  merely  a 
preliminary  meeting  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  bishopric  or  branch  presi- 


dent and  is  not  considered  as  the 
quorum  meeting. 

After  separation  from  these  open- 
ing exercises,  the  various  quorums 
and  groups  go  into  their  weekly 
priesthood  or  group  meetings.  Those 
attending  would  be  considered  pres- 
ent as  indicated  by  question  2. 

When  the  quorums  and  groups 
separate  into  their  various  weekly 
priesthood  meetings  there  are  some 
who  have  other  assignments  which 
will  not  permit  them  to  attend  their 
own  quorum  or  group  meetings  For 
instance,  bishoprics  and  Aaronic 
Priesthood  class  instructors  would 
ordinarily  go  with  the  Aaronic 
Priesthood  quorums  where  they  are 
assigned  and  necessarily  would  be 
absent  from  their  own  weekly  quo- 
rum or  group  meetings.  Such  mem- 
bers would  then  be  given  credit  in 
question  3  because  they  are  en- 
gaged in  other  Church  work  during 


the  time  of  their  own  weekly  priest- 
hood meetings. 

There  may  be  many  others  who 
would  be  given  credit  under  ques- 
tion 3,  such  as  high  councilmen, 
auxiliary,  general  and  stake  board 
members,  who  must  attend  other 
wards,  and  due  to  the  distance 
to  be  traveled  would  not  be  able 
to  attend  their  own  weekly  priest- 
hood meetings  and  arrive  at  their 
appointments  on  time.  In  these 
cases,  however,  it  is  fhe  responsi- 
bility of  such  member  to  arrange  to 
be  excused  from  his  own  quorum  or 
group  meeting  so  he  may  receive 
credit  under  question  3,  because 
the  secretary  would  not  otherwise 
know  if  he  were  to  be  excused 
for  this  reason  or  if  he  were  merely 
absent  without  excuse. 

Please  refer  to  Section  VI-B, 
pages  34,  35,  and  36  of  the  Mel- 
chizedek  Priesthood  Handbook. 


"SALE   BY  THE   DRINK" 

AI7b  give  to  these  lines  this  heading, 
although  herein  we  write  of 
some  matters  other  than  liquor  mer- 
char  dismg. 

In  Utah  some  of  us  were  stirred  up 
i::  May  by  newspaper  announcements 
of  a  movement  designed  to  secure  in 
Utah  a  change  in  the  state  liquor  laws, 
legalizing  the  sale  of  liquor  "by  the 
drink,"  i.e.  by  the  glass.  In  Utah,  as 
In  some  other  states,  distilled  liquors 
can  legally  be  sold  only  by  the  state 
and  in  bottles  or  packages.  This  is 
called  the  monopoly  system,  the  system 
that  has  existed  in  sixteen  other  states. 
In  twenty-nine  states  the  license  sys- 
tem is  legalized  which  is  best  described 
piobably  by  calling  it  the  saloon 
method,  the  one  that  prevailed  all  over 
the  country  before  national  prohibition. 

After  the  repeal  of  national  prohibi- 
tion in  1933,  the  question  of  how  to 
control  liquor  merchandising  was  a 
live  one  in  most  of  the  states.  It  was 
generally  agreed,  even  among  the  pro- 
moters of  repeal,  that  the  old-time 
saloon  should  not  be  allowed  to  return. 
In  Utah  the  governor  appointed  a  com- 
mission to  make  a  careful  study  of  the 
question  and  recommend  a  method  of 
control.  This  the  commission  did, 
with  the  result  that  Utah  became  one 
of  the  monopoly  states. 

According  to  the  plan  adopted,  the 
state  is  the  only  legal  vendor  of  dis- 
tilled liquors.  Sales  are  made  by  state- 
owned  stores  and  only  to  patrons  who 
possess  state-granted  permits  to  buy. 
Minors  may  not  get  permits.  Further, 
the  liquor  purchased  may  not  be  con- 

JULY  1950 


N0- 
LIQIOR- 

TOBACCO 

COLUMN 


CONDUCTED  BY 

DR.  JOSEPH  F. 

MERRILL 


sumed  on  the  premises.  It  is  furnished 
in  packages,  or  containers,  which  must 
be  taken  off  the  premises  before  being 
opened. 

Now,  there  are  people  who  advocate 
amending  the  law  to  permit  all  retail- 
ing of  liquor  to  be  made  by  licensed 
vendors  as  was  done  in  old  saloon 
days,  licenses  to  be  granted  by  the  city, 
town,  or  county  in  which  the  retailing 
is  done.  Four  years  ago  these  advo- 
cates proposed  to  effect  these  changes 


by  the  initiative  method — putting  them 
on  the  ballot  in  the  November  election 
■ — a  method  that  is  legal  in  Utah.  But 
the  movement  failed,  lacking  the 
requisite  number  of  signatures  on  the 
petitions  to  get  the  changes  on  the 
ballots. 

According  to  newspaper  announce- 
ments at  the  time  of  this  writing  (May 
25),  "sale-by-the-drink"  petitions  are 
circulating  for  signatures  to  put  the 
proposition  on  the  November  ballots. 
But  this  writer  believes  that  no  well- 
informed,  right-thinking  voter,  who  be- 
lieves that  the  moral  welfare  of  human 
souls  is  more  precious  than  gold  and 
therefore  should  come  before  dollars, 
will  support  the  movement  for  "sale 
by  the  drink."  Why?  Because  this 
method  of  selling  would  increase  per 
capita  consumption,  result  in  injury  to 
morals,  bring  corrupt  influences  into 
local  politics,  corrupt  public  officials, 
create  bad  environments — these  are 
some  of  the  reasons.  Space  will  not 
permit  an  elaboration  of  them  here. 
However,  we  add  a  few  statements 
relative  to  them.  Twenty-nine  states 
have  had  the  license  system  during  the 
twelve  years  1937-1948,  inclusive  (we 
do  not  have  the  data  for  1949),  and 
seventeen  have  had  the  monopoly  sys- 
tem. In  each  of  these  twelve  years, 
the  per  capita  consumption  in  the  li- 
cense states  was  greater  than  that  in 
the  monopoly  states,  the  amount  vary- 
ing from  fourteen  percent  to  fifty-seven 
percent,  this  last  figure  being  for  1946. 
These  figures  positively  refute  the 
claim  that  "sale  by  the  drink" — the 
saloon  method,  rather  than  the  bottle 
(Continued  on  page  594) 

569 


Aaronic   Priesthood 

Think!  Guard  Against  The 
Summer  letdown 

TThere  is  some  tendency  to  let  down 
our  work  during  the  summer 
months.  We  are  too  busy;  the  boys 
are  too  busy;  it's  too  hot;  there  are 
places  to  go.  and  a  dozen  or  more  ad- 
ditional excuses,  each  competing  with 
the  other  to  be  declared  the  best  (the 
weakest)  of  them  all. 

But  have  you  ever  heard  the  forces 
of  evil  offer  excuses  for  not  rustling 
day  and  night  for  new  recruits,  even 
during  the  summer  months?  Can  you 
name  the  time  or  the  circumstance 
when  the  powers  of  darkness  slow 
down  or  take  a  rest? 

The  grim  reaper  of  sin  takes  a 
heavy  toll  even  when  we  are  right  up 
in  the  collar,  pulling  every  minute. 
Think!  What  happens  then  when  we 
slow  down  for  any  reason  or  for  any 
length  of  time? 

If  we  think  long  enough  on  this 
matter,  we  may  discover  that  "taking 
it  easy"  in  our  work  with  Aaronic 
Priesthood  members  during  the  sum- 
mer months  could  easily  prove  to  be 
quite  an  accommodation  to  the  forces 
of  evil. 


The  Midyear  Checkup 

We  are  halfway  through 
1950.  How  many  Aaronic 
Priesthood  members  and  quo- 
rums have  you  qualified  to  date? 

The  midyear  checkup  has 
saved  many  quorums  and  many 
boys  from  disappointment  later 
on. 


South  Los  Angeles  (California)  Stake  boasts  three  L.D.S.  girls  who  have  had  a  one  hundred  percent 
attendance  record  at  sacrament  meeting,  Sunday  School,  and  Y.W.M.I.A.  during  the  four  years  January 
I,    1946   to  January   7,    7950. 

Harold  F.  Whittier  of  the  stake  presidency  extends  congratulations  to  Ann  Robinson,  Nan  Stokes, 
Nan  Robinson,  while  Ruth   Ryan,   chairman   of   the   stake   committee,    looks   on   approvingly. 

We  cannot  now  shake  hands  with  these  successful  young  women,  but  we  do  extend  our  congratula- 
tions  on    their    outstanding    records. 

570 


Appreciation  Expressed  to  Workers  in  the  I.D.S.  Girls  Program 

"V7"ou  have  labored  faithfully  and  efficiently  during  the  four  and  one-half  years — - 

January  1,  1946  to  July  1,  1950 — that  the  Latter-day  Saint  girls  program 
has  been  under  the  direction  of  the  Presiding  Bishopric.  Innumerable  new 
records  have  been  established,  both  individual  and  group,  as  a  direct  result  of 
your  untiring  efforts  to  look  after  our  young  women. 

Over  ten  thousand  more  Latter-day  Saint  girls  attend  sacrament  meeting 
every  week  now  than  when  the  program  first  began.  Who  can  begin  to  estimate 
what  this  means  now  and  in  the  years  to  come?  You  played  a  vital  part  in  this 
wonderful  accomplishment. 

Upwards  of  six  thousand  more  L.D.S.  girls  attend  Sunday  School  every 
Sunday  morning,  and  nearly  eight  thousand  more  girls  attend  M.I. A.  every 
week  as  the  program  is  turned  over  to  the  Y.W.M.I.A.  as  compared  with  the 
records  for  January  1946. 

Thousands  of  L.D.S.  girls  are  now  on  the  tithing  records  of  the  Church 
who  had  given  little  heed  to  this  divine  law  before  the  program  was  begun. 
Girls  now  look  upon  tithing  as  a  law  to  all  members  of  the  Church  and  not 
primarily  for  fathers  and  mothers. 

Our  girls  have  been  brought  into  the  Church  welfare  program  in  a  real 
way;  they  have  been  given  equal  opportunity  with  the  Aaronic  Priesthood  mem- 
bers to  speak  in  Church  meetings;  they  have  had  their  attention  directed  more 
forcefully  to  chastity,  courtship,  temple  marriage,  the  Word  of  Wisdom,  and 
many  other  virtues  which  form  the  basis  for  a  useful  happy  life  as  a  Latter-day 
Saint. 

Many  other  accomplishments  could  be  enumerated.  The  unnumbered 
personal  chats  between  the  adviser  and  the  girl,  for  instance;  closer  contact 
between  mother  and  daughter  in  many  cases,  brought  about  through  the 
personal  visits  of  the  "big-sister"  adviser;  fathers  and  mothers  brought  into 
Church  activity  as  well  as  the  daughters;  the  list  grows  as  one  thinks  of  all 
that  has  been  done  to  help  our  girls. 

It  is  realized  that  the  L.D.S.  girls  organization  has  not  been  responsible 
for  all  the  good  that  has  been  accomplished,  but  let  no  one  overlook  the  good 
they  have  done,  either.  It  has  been  our  aim  to  get  our  young  women  into  the 
several  organizations  and  activities  of  the  Church  where  such  organizations 
and  activities  could  demonstrate  their  power  for  good.  We  feel  that,  in  this, 
there  has  been  real  progress,  and  that  together  with  all  the  agencies  and  teach- 
ings of  the  Church,  we  have  brought  blessings  to  our  L.D.S.  girls. 

Now  that  our  official  associations  in  the  L.D.S.  girls  program  are  ended, 
we  want  you  one  and  all  to  know  how  much  we  appreciate  the  full  measure  of 
your  loyalty  and  devotion  to  every  requirement  made  of  you.  We  consider 
it  one  of  our  rarest  privileges  to  have  been  associated  with  you  in  this  work. 
The  effectiveness  of  your  labors  can  never  be  measured  in  time — both  time  and 

all  eternity  will  be  required  to  deter- 
mine the  far-reaching  effects  of  your 
humble  efforts  to  do  good. 

We  pray  for  each  of  you  that  your 
life  may  be  rich  and  beautiful  in  the 
harvest  you  shall  gather  to  yourself 
from  the  seed  you  have  so  faithfully 
sown  in  the  fertile,  gentle  hearts  of 
the  girls  who  have  been  under  your 
care. 

It  is  our  cherished  hope  that  priest- 
hood leaders  in  stakes  and  wards,  and 
particularly  our  bishops  and  their 
counselors,  together  with  all  who 
have  assisted  in  this  work  in  the  past 
will  give  wholehearted  support  to  the 
Y.W.M.I.A.  organizations  as  they  take 
over  the  responsibilities  of  this  great 
program. 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


vfe|p  J-'r'epared  bu  cJLee  ~M,  f-^alt, 


liner 


DEACONS  QUORUM  AND  ADVISER 
SET  CHALLENGING  RECORDS 

T_Tere  is  a  record  which,  if  duplicated 
by  every  Aaronic  Priesthood  quo- 
rum and  adviser  in  the  Church — well, 
who  would  want  to  hazard  even  a 
guess  as  to  what  could  be  accom- 
plished? 

During  the  first  three  months  of 
1950,  this  quorum  had  an  average  at- 
tendance of  better  than  ninety-five 
percent  at  priesthood  meeting,  better 
than  ninety  percent  at  Sunday  School 
and  Y.M.M.I.A.,  and  sixty-five  per- 
cent at  sacrament  meeting. 

But  the  record  we  really  want  our 
workers  to  observe  has  been  estab- 
lished by  the  quorum  adviser,  Harry 
M.  DeRyke. 

Activities  outside  of  quorum  meet- 
ing, and  for  all  quorum  members,  in- 


OGDEN  TWELFTH  WARD  DEACONS  AND  ADVISER,  MT.  OGDEN  (UTAH)  STAKE 


eluded — two  wrestling  matches;  one 
social  topped  with  pie  and  ice  cream; 
one  social  ending  with  a  doughnut- 
eating   contest;   one   home   dinner    for 


WORK    AMONG    ADULT    MEMBERS    OF    AARONIC    PRIESTHOOD 
IN    LETHBRIDGE    (CANADA)    STAKE    IS   PROSPERING 


Calgary  First  and 
Second  Wards,  Leth- 
bridge  Stake,  recently 
entertained  adult  mem- 
bers of  the  Aaronic 
Priesthood  and  their 
wives  in  a  lovely  so- 
cial evening.  Stake  and 
v/ard  leaders  are  in- 
cluded in  the  photo- 
graph. 

Stake  President  Oc- 
tave Ursenbach  has 
already  interviewed 
several  of  these  breth- 
ren looking  to  their  or- 
dination to  the  Mel- 
chizedek   Priesthood. 

Here  is  more  evi- 
dence that  "it  can  be 
done." 


SOUTHGATE  WARD, 
SOUTH  SALT  LAKE 
STAKE  finished  1949 
with  ten  girls  main- 
taining a  perfect  rec- 
ord of  attendance  at 
meetings.  Left       to 

right:  Margaret  Klemm, 
Barbara  Christiansen, 
LaDene  Nash,  Elva 
Nillsan,  Rilla  Nillsan, 
Carol  Nash,  Marcene 
Carter,  Darlene  Bailey, 
Wilma  Flanders,  Beth 
Klemm. 


earning  the  quorum  award — all  in  three 
months. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year,  Quo- 
rum Adviser  DeRyke  visited  each  boy 
in  his  home  and  presented  him  with 
a  cake  with  the  boy's  name  on  it. 
When  a  member  of  the  quorum  is  ad- 
vanced in  the  priesthood,  the  boy  re- 
ceives another  cake  with  the  inscrip- 
tion: "Nice  goin',  pal,  keep  up  the 
good  work."  (It  should  be  explained 
that  Brother  DeRyke  is  a  baker  by 
trade.) 

When  a  young  man  is  about  ready 
to  become  a  deacon,  Brother  DeRyke 
visits  the  boy  in  his  home,  talks  with 
him  about  his  coming  responsibilities 
in  the  priesthood  and  invites  both 
the  father  and  the  mother  to  be  present 
when  their  son  is  ordained. 

We  review  his  accomplishments 
since  the  first  of  the  year  in  reviving  in- 
active members:  one  member  inactive 
for  eighteen  months  now  active  and 
advanced;  one  member  inactive  one 
year  and  another  inactive  for  eight 
months,  now  active. 

This  is  not  simple  publicity — this  is 
setting  before  all  our  Aaronic  Priest- 
hood advisers  another  example  of 
what  can  be  done  when  leaders  lead. 


WELLS  (UTAH)  STAKE  QUALIFIES  THIRTY-ONE 
FOR  MEMBERSHIP  IN  PERFECT  ATTENDANCE  GROUP 
L.D.S.  girls  in  the  Wells  Stake  led  the  Aaronic  Priesthood  members  twenty- 
three  to  eight  (in  the  photo)  in  the  number  of  one  hundred  percent  attendance 
seals  affixed  to  individual  certificates  of  award  earned  during  1949.  However, 
the  Aaronic  Priesthood  members  nosed  the  girls  out  of  first  place  for  total 
awards  earned  by  breaking  the  tape  with  140  awards  for  boys  compared  with 
132  awards  for  girls  for  the  year. 


LAKE  VIEW  (UTAH)  STAKE  PRESENTS  TWENTY-FOUR 
GIRLS  WITH  PERFECT  ATTENDANCE  RECORDS 
One  hundred  and  fifty-two  individual  certificates  of  award  were  earned  by 
the  L.D.S.  girls  in  the  Lake  View  Stake  during  1949.  Twenty-four  girls  (in  the 
photo)  had  a  perfect  attendance  record  at  sacrament  meeting,  Sunday  School, 
and  Y.W.M.I.A.  from  one  to  three  years.  One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  individual 
awards  for  Aaronic  Priesthood  members,  added  to  the  number  for  girls,  gave 
the  youth  of  Lake  View  Stake  291  awards  for  the  year. 


TODAY'S 


dui&n  J^kepkerd 


mi 


EDITOR 


Be  a 

"New-Fashioned" 
— Cook 


The  popularity-poll  among  foods 
usually  finds  vegetables  low  on 
the  list.  And  there's  a  reason. 
As  customarily  prepared  in  the 
American  kitchen,  vegetables  lose 
from  fifty  to  ninety  percent  of  their 
food  value  and  flavor  in  the  inter- 
val between  taking  them  from  the 
garden  or  grocery  and  getting  them 
to  the  table.  The  basic  rules  which 
should  boost  their  popularity  with 
the  family  and  provide  better  health 
are  given  below.  We  don't  al- 
ways stop  to  think  about  it,  but 
the  cumulative  loss  of  vitamins  and 
minerals  day  after  day  by  improper 
cooking  is  an  important  factor  in 
numerous  ills  and  diseases. 

Tips  for  the  Cook 

1.  Make  it  a  rule  never  to  peel 
vegetables  unless  their  skins  are 
tough  and  bitter,  or  too  uneven  to 
be  cleaned  thoroughly. 

2.  Don't  be  a  vegetable  soaker. 
Wash  vegetables  quickly,  cook  them 
quickly,  and  serve  them  immedi- 
ately. Long  boiling  in  a  water 
bath  is  another  form  of  soaking  that 
is  highly  destructive  of  vitamins 
and  minerals.  Also,  most  of  the 
aromatic  oils  and  sugars  which 
give  vegetables  flavor  are  lost 
through  soaking  and  long  cooking. 

3.  Do  not  use  soda  in  cooking — 
even  the  smallest  amount  will  de- 
stroy vitamin  C. 

572 


4.  Since  dicing,  shredding,  and 
chopping  shorten  the  cooking  time, 
these  procedures  are  permissible 
if  the  vegetable  is  immediately 
cooked — either  the  waterless  way 
or  in  a  very  little  water. 

5.  In  any  method  of  vegetable 
cookery,  the  pot-liquor  left  after 
cooking  is  valuable  food  and  ought 

never,   never,   never   to  be  poured 
down  the  sink. 

6.  Use  green  vegetables  fresh — 
the  fresher  the  better  to  avoid  vita- 
min losses.  Keep  an  eye  open  for 
wild  greens  known  to  be  good 
eating — dandelion,     lambsquarters, 


Kitchen   in  a  Colonial  house  after  a  painting   by 
Pierce  of  Bettmann  Archives. 


and  others.  Remember,  the  greener 
the  leaf,  pod,  or  stem,  the  richer 
in  iron,  copper,  and  vitamin  A. 
Serve  green  foods  daily! 

Cooking  Methods 

1.  Perhaps  the  best  method  of 
cooking  vegetables  is  the  "water- 
less" method,  which  calls  for  heavy 
cooking  pans  with  tightly-fitted 
lids.  Since  vegetables  contain 
from  70  to  90  percent  water,  they 
may  be  cooked  by  this  method 
without  adding  any  water  at  all, 
although  a  tablespoon  or  two  may 
be  added  at  first  to  drive  out  oxy- 
gen more  quickly.  Success  of  this 
method  depends  on  keeping  the 
heat  low  enough,  after  the  first  few 
minutes,  so  that  no  steam  escapes. 
Usually  a  simmer  burner  is  hot 
enough  and  so  saves  fuel. 

2.  In  lightweight  pans  not  de- 
signed for  waterless  cooking,  start 
the  vegetables  cooking  in  briskly 
boiling  water — just  enough  to  pre- 
vent   sticking    to    the    pan.     With 


greens,  use  only  the  water  that 
clings  to  the  leaves.  Keep  the  pan 
covered,  and  cook  in  as  short  a 
time  as  possible. 

3.  Vegetables  may  also  be  sim- 
mered in  milk,  and  they  will  have  a 
milder,  sweeter  flavor  than  those 
cooked  in  water.  The  milk  itself 
will  be  delicious  as  a  drink  or  when 
made  into  a  sauce  or  soup.  The 
milk  should  be  pre-heated  before 
adding  the  vegetable  but  should  not 
boil.  Try  it  with  shredded  cabbage 
and,  if  desired,  thicken  slightly 
with  a  flour  and  fat  mixture. 

4.  Baking  is  far  superior  to  boil- 
ing in  vegetable  cookery,  although 
much  vitamin  C  may  be  lost  due  to 
slow  initial  heating,  long  cooking, 
and  exposure  to  oxygen.  If  vege- 
tables are  peeled,  losses  are  in- 
creased. However,  losses  can  be 
minimized  by  coating  the  vege- 
tables with  oil  and  baking  in  pre- 
heated oven. 

5.  Panning  is  a  quick  and 
practical  top-of-the-stove  method  of 
cooking  vegetables  in  their  own 
juices.  No  more  than  2  table- 
spoons of  fat  need  be  used,  and 
the  vegetable  should  be  thorough- 
ly stirred  into  it  to  seal  all  sur- 
faces. If  the  cooking  time  is  5 
minutes  or  less,  2  tablespoons  of 
water  may  be  added  to  produce 
steam.  Cover  with  a  tight-fitting 
lid  and  reduce  the  heat  as  soon  as 
the  vegetable  is  heated  through. 
This  is  a  variation  of  the  water- 
less method.  Vegetables  may  be 
sliced  or  shredded. 

6.  The  new-type  pressure  cooker 


FACE  VALUE 

When  we  think  of  the  beauty 
of  face  and  figure,  one  of 
our  first  considerations  is  the 
skin  and  complexion.  Time,  weath- 
er, and  worry  effect  undesirable 
changes  in  all  of  us,  and  so  do 
poor  diet,  lack  of  exercise,  and  im- 
proper rest.    Few  women  can  boast 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


may  be  an  aid  to  good  cooking,  pro- 
vided the  cooking  time  is  checked 
with  precision.  Only  a  few  table- 
spoons of  water  need  be  used,  and 
the  water  should  be  brought  to  a 
boil  before  the  food  is  put  into  the 
utensil.  As  soon  as  the  cooking 
time  is  reached,  the  vessel  should  be 
cooled  immediately.  The  disadvan- 
tage of  this  method  is  that  vegetables 
quickly  overcook  due  to  the  high 
temperature  of  the  cooker,  destroy- 
ing large  amounts  of  vitamins  C,  B1, 
B2,  and  niacin.  Also,  aromatic  oils 
are  driven  off  quickly,  and  flavor 
is  lost. 

Storage  Principles 

1.  Leftovers  are  best  covered 
and  stored  in  the  refrigerator  and 
used  the  following  day.  Reheating 
should  be  avoided  whenever  pos- 
sible. Served  with  crisp  foods, 
leftovers  make  a  good  luncheon 
salad. 

2.  If  it  is  necessary  to  hold  them 
for  a  day  or  so,  keep  green  vege- 
tables cool,  damp,  and  lightly  cov- 
ered. 

3.  The  tops  of  carrots,  beets, 
and  other  root  vegetables  should 
be  cut  off  before  putting  them  in 
the  vegetable  bin,  since  the  leaves 
draw  moisture  and  food  from  the 
roots  after  they  are  pulled. 

4.  Wash  all  vegetables  before 
storing,  to  prevent  wilt  and  con- 
tamination. 


a  normal  skin  after  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  most  believing  that 
they  have  a  dry  skin,  and  others 
complaining  of  oiliness.  It  is  at  about 
that  age,  too,  that  they  begin  to 
peer  in  the  mirror  in  search  of 
crow's-feet  and  other  signs  of  pre- 
mature aging;  and  from  then  on 
they  are  good  prospects  for  cos- 
metic salesmen  with  their  beauty 
restoratives. 

Cosmetics  will  cleanse,  soften, 
and  freshen  the  skin,  and  we  enjoy 
using  them,  but  they  cannot  im- 
prove the  quality  of  the  blood- 
stream which  feeds  the  skin  cells. 
The  skin  starves  and  loses  its  tone, 
colcr,  and  fine  texture  when  a  wom- 
an habitually  (1)  overeats,  (2) 
undereats,    (3)    has   a   diet   low   in 

(Continued  on  following  page) 
JULY  1950 


You'll  never  forget 
the  day  you  try 

IMPROVED 

FELS-NAPTHA ! 


You'll  say  it's  a  'WHITE'  LETTER  Day  in  your  life  . 
the  first  day  you  wash  one  of  hubby  s  shirts  with 
Improved  Fels-Naptha  Soap!  That  shirt  will  be 
cleaned  as  only  good  soap  can  clean  it.  And  you'll 
both  agree  you've  never  seen  a  WHITER  shirt! 

Make  every  washday  a  'WHITE'  LETTER  Day. 
Always  use  Improved  Fels-Naptha — 
the  only  laundry  product  that  gives  you 
three  washday  advantages — 

1.   Mild,  golden  soap. 
Gentle,  active  naptha. 
Finer  'Sunshine'  Ingredients 
for  extra,  brilliant  whiteness 
and  clearer,  brighter  colors. 


IMPROVED 


Fels-Naptha  Soap 

BAN/SHEs\aTTLE'TALE  GRAY'' 


5/3 


"Aha!  So  that 
for  it 

Discovered — a  remark- 
able difference  in  tuna! 
Increasing  numbers  of  house- 
wives are  discovering  that 
Star-Kist  Tuna  is  better 
3  ways  when  compared  to 
other  brands.  The  secret  is 
the  smaller  tuna.  These 


's  her  salad  secret!  She's  reaching 
now — Star-Kist  Tuna! ' ' 

smaller  tuna  are  (1)  lighter 
in  appearance;  (2)  finer  in 
texture;  (3)  milder  in  flavor. 
Only  these  smaller  tuna  are 
packed  under  the  Star-Kist 
Tuna  label!  Why  not  make 
this  discovery  yourself? 


Star-Kist. 

^sasteTuna 


W>M 


Mtt/tf/ 


Hotel  Utah 


*  &{$&&  Shop  * 

MAX  CARPENTER,  Manager 


* 


574 


Face  Value 

{Continued  from  preceding  page) 

minerals  and  vitamins,  (4)  does  not 
drink  enough  water,  (5)  neglects 
exercise  and  proper  breathing,  (6) 
is  plagued  by  worry,  fear,  and 
other  negative  emotions,  (7)  is 
continually  overtired  or  suffers 
from  prolonged  tension. 

Why  wrinkles?  The  network  of 
blood  vessels  which  feed  the  skin 
and  give  it  tone  and  color  rests  on 
a  pad  of  fat.  Over  the  years  the 
fat  layer  is  gradually  absorbed, 
and  as  the  skin  fails  to  contract  at 
the  same  rate  as  the  fatty  tissue, 
wrinkles  develop.  Daily  massage, 
either  with  soap  and  water  and  a 
complexion  brush  or  with  cream 
may  help,  as  it  stimulates  circu- 
lation, but  prevention  by  wise  living 
habits  is  much  more  promising 
than  attempted  cure.  Rapid  loss 
of  weight  will  also  produce  wrin- 
kles. 

What  about  dry  skin?     Basically, 
this  condition   results  from  insuffi- 
ciency   of    oils     secreted     by     the 
glands    of    the     skin.       Those     so 
afflicted   will    be   helped    by   using 
soap    and    soft    water    rather    than 
hard   water    for   washing    the    face 
and   by  using   a   protective   cream. 
Although    most    people    prefer    a 
soap  and  water  cleansing,  the  skin 
can   be   adequately    cleansed   with 
cleansing  cream  if  soap  is  irritating. 
Sufferers  of  dry  skin  will  do  well 
to     avoid     glycerin,     coconut     oil 
soaps,  undue  exposure  to  sun  and 
wind,    and    lengthy   periods   under 
hair  dryers.     Massage  is  helpful  as 
it  stimulates   circulation   and  helps 
to  lubricate  the  skin.     A  diet  high 
in  fresh  fruit  and  green  vegetables 
will  help  also.     Very  few  women 
have  abnormally  dry  skin  as  evi- 
denced by  continuous  dryness  and 
scaliness;  such  a  condition  results 
from  underactivity  of  the  pituitary 
gland. 

Why  oily  skin?  Excessive  oili- 
ness  is  usually  an  indication  of  a 
more  profound  disturbance  of  the 
system,  stemming  from  wrong  diet, 
poor  elimination,  physical  inactivity, 
nervousness,  and  tension.  Correc- 
tion, therefore,  calls  for  a  health- 
building  program  of  diet,  exercise, 
deep  breathing,  plenty  of  rest  and 
relaxation.     This  will  help  to  nor- 

(Continued  on  page  576) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


tfs§at& 


There'll  be  a  smile  in  every  mile  . . .  when  you 
OIL-PLATE  the  engine  of  your  new  car  with 
new  Conoco  Super  Motor  Oil! 

Proved  by  50,000-Mile  Road  Test!  In  a  pun- 
ishing 50,000-mile  road  test,  engines  lubricated 
with  Conoco  Super  Motor  Oil  showed  an  amaz- 
ing economy  of  operation.  Gasoline  mileage  for 
the  last  5,000  miles  of  the  test-run  was  actually 
99.77%  as  good  as  for  the  first  5,000  miles. 


This  means  that  new  Conoco  Super  Motor 
Oil— with  proper  crankcase  drains  and  regular 
care — can  keep  new-car  gasoline  mileage  .  .  . 
new-car  power  and  performance  .  .  .  year 
after  year! 

Why  delay  another  day?  Ask  Your  Mileage 
Merchant  for  new  Conoco  Super  Motor  Oil 
— now! 


©i95o  CONTINENTAL   OIL    COMPANY 

JULY  1950 


575 


locke 


WESTERN  LOCKERAP  liter- 
ally locks  in  flavorful  juices  and 
natural  color  of  frozen  meats, 
fish,  fowl  and  game.  It's  the 
waxed  paper  wrap  designed  for 
one  express  purpose... to  guard 
your  choice  cuts  of  meats  while 
freezer-stored. 

Whether  you  have  a  home 
freezer  of  your  own  or  rent  a 
frozen  food  locker,  WESTERN 
IX)CKERAP  gives  you  plus- 
perfect  protection... assures  you 
of  fresh  meal-time  flavor  for 
your  frozen  meats,  fish,  fowl 
and  game.  Ask  your  grocer  or 
locker  plant  operator  today  for 
WESTERN   LOCKERAP. 


anA 


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FREE  colorful  guide  to  help 
you  prepare,  protect  and  pre- 
serve your  quick-frozen  foods. 
Write  now  to  Western  Waxed 
Paper  Co.,  North  Portland, 
Oregon.  Your  copy  will  be 
mailed  at  once. 


Rol!  contains 
ISO  leet  of 
WESTERN 
LOCKERAP. 
Choice  of  18, 
20  or  24  inch 
widths. 


WESTERN  WAXED   PAPER 


PORTLAND      •      SAN    LEAND 
LOS    ANGELES 


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£J 


FACE  VALUE 


{Continued  from  page  574) 

malize  the  chemical  processes  of 
the  body.  External  treatment  in- 
cludes soap  and  water  cleansing, 
massage,  and  use  of  an  astringent 
lotion.  A  non-oily  foundation  lo- 
tion is  better  than  a  cream  or  pan- 
cake foundation.  The  diet  should 
be  low  in  carbohydrates  and  fatty 


foods;    high   in   fresh   fruits,    vege- 
tables, and  drinking  water. 

What  about  acne?  When  June 
Haver,  popular  movie  star,  was  a 
young  girl,  she  worried  about  pim- 
ples and  blemishes  as  many  young 
folk  do  now.  The  advice  given 
her  by  her  gym  teacher  has  been 


s: 


amna 


44 


I'M  SORRY 


+  9 


BY  RICHARD  L.  EVANS 


576 


§  WE  sometimes  assume  that  we  have  fully  repented  and 

§  made  amends  when  we  have  said  we  are  sorry.  But 

&  there  is  a  side  to  being  sorry  that  is  more  serious  than 

&  mere    polite   apology.      And   there   are    circumstances    in 

&  which  much  more  than  casual  regret  is  called  for.  Saying 

£  we're  sorry  doesn't  undo  physical  damage.     Saying  we're 

|  sorry  doesn't  restore  things  that  are  lost.     Saying  we're 

?  sorry  doesn't  always  heal  a  broken  heart.     It  may  help. 

£  Certainly  saying  we're  sorry  is  a  gesture  in  the  right  di- 

$  rection.     But  it  isn't  necessarily  real  repentance.     Real  re- 

^  pentance  is  something  beyond  the  repetition  of  a  ready- 

$  made  phrase.     Sometimes  people  are  repentant  only  to  the 

§  point  of  being  concerned  about  consequences.    And  some- 

§  times  a  supposed  repentance  is  prompted  principally  by 

§  fear,  and  passes  as  soon  as  the  fear  passes.     People  often 

§  know    full   well   the   probable    penalties    of    some   of    the 

&  things    they   do.      But   they   sometimes   decide  to   take   a 

&  chance  and  hope  the  gamble  will  go  in  their  favor.  And 

&  if  it  doesn't  they  say  they're  sorry.     Of  course  a  person 

&  is  sorry  when  he  is  faced  with  unpleasant  facts  and  pos- 
sible penalties!  And  for  the  moment,  at  least,  he  may  seem 
to  be  really  "repentant."  But  real  repentance  is  more  than 
being  embarrassed,  and  it  is  more  than  the  fear  of  conse- 

?  quences.     Real  repentance  must  include  a  man's  admission 

]j  to  himself  that  he  knows  he  has  done  what  he  shouldn't 
have  done,  that  he  is  earnestly  and  inwardly  sorry,  and 

j1  will  make  an  honest  effort  to  make  amends.     And  if  he 

y  is  wise,  he  will  have  learned  his  lesson.     If  he  isn't,  he 

§  may  be  sorry  again  and   again — and   go  on   singing   the 

§  same  sorrowful  song.      In  short,   when   someone  says  he 

§  is  sorry,  the  crux  of  the  question  is:  Is  he  sincerely  sorry, 

§  or  is  he  merely  professing  repentance?     To  be  convincing, 

&  there  are  many  things  a  man  must  do  besides  saying  he's 

&  sorry.     He  can't  perhaps  always  undo  the  damage,  but 

A  to  be  convincing  he  must  say  he  is  soEry  with  a  changed      ^ 

§ 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


J 

§ 

§ 
i 

| 

§ 
§ 

§ 

i 


course  of  conduct. 


Uke    Spoken      lAJord  FROM  TEMPLE  SQUARE 

PRESENTED    OVER   KSL    AND    THE   COLUMBIA   BROAD- 
CASTING   SYSTEM,    MAY   7,    1950 

Copyright,    King     Features 


her  guide  in  complexion  care  and 
personality  development  ever  since. 
Evaluating  diet,  hair  brushing,  and 
other  beauty  care,  this  wise  teacher 
said,  "All  the  natural  things  you 
do  will  make  you  much  more  beau- 
tiful than  the  unnatural  things  you 
do."1 

What  can  be  done  about  acne? 
The  same  things  that  can  be  done 
for  other  skin  problems  and  for 
health  generally.  Dermatologists 
who  treat  acne  patients  today  stress 
diet  in  controlling  the  condition. 
Says  the  author  of  Skin,  Beauty 
and  Health:  "There  is  hardly  a 
patient  with  acne  who  will  not 
admit,  on  careful  questioning,  that 
crops  of  new  pimples  appear  after 
eating  some  forbidden  delicacy  .  .  . 
he  or  she  will  frequently  say  that 
they  had  a  chocolate  ice  cream  soda 
just  before  coming  to  the  doctor, 
because  they  were  sure  they  would 
be  told  not  to  have  any  more!"5 
Bacteria  love  sugar,  and  they  have 
a  multiplying  good  time  when  the 
acne  sufferer  imbibes  in  sugar-rich 
foods.  Poor  elimination  habits, 
lack  of  sleep,  nervousness,  and 
tenseness  are  also  aggravating  to 
the  condition  and  should  be  cor- 
rected as  far  as  possible.  Cleanli- 
ness is  also  important. 

In  terms  of  "what-not-to-eat," 
the  following  foods  should  be 
avoided  by  one  who  seeks  relief 
from  annoying  complexion  trou- 
bles: 


1.  Candy,  especially  chocolates,  ice 
cream,  and  soft  drinks 

2.  Pastry,  including  pie,  cake, 
cookies,  eclairs 

3.  Foods  cooked  with  sugar  (pud- 
dings, jams,  jellies,  and  other  sugar 
desserts ) .  Some  puddings  and  fruit 
can  be  prepared  without  sugar  and 
a  small  amount  added  at  the  table. 
Uncooked  sugar  is  not  so  quickly  ab- 
sorbed into  the  blood  as  cooked  sugar 
and  therefore  is  not  so  harmful. 

4.  Fried  foods  (from  fried  eggs  to 
doughnuts) 

5.  Stimulants  (tea,  coffee,  cola 
drinks,  alcohol) — Postum  is  permis- 
sible as  a  beverage. 

6.  Spices  and  highly  seasoned  foods 
— pepper,   relishes,   catsup,  hot  sauces 

''Filmland   Magazine,   November    1949   p.    19 
2Bernard   Appel,    M.    D.,    Skin   Beauty   and  Health, 
White's    Book    Co.,    Westfield,    Mass.    1946.    p.    191 

JULY  1950 


qmutvIn  TUNA  l' 


"BITE  SIZE  TUNA" 


is  one  of  your  best  "food  buys"! 

It's  all  meat;  no  bones  or  fat 

to  cut  out  and  throw  away;  no 

"shrinkage"  in  cooking!  And  it's 

always  the  same  high  quality, 

for  only  the  tender  light  meat 

is  packed. 

Insist  upon  this  famous  quality  tuna 

and  be  sure  that  every  tuna  dish  you 

prepare  is  a  thrilling  success! 


Trademark  of  Van 
Camp  Sea  Food  Co.,  Inc. 
Terminal  Island,  Calif. 

tOOK  FOR  THE 

CAN  WITH  THE 

GREEN  LABEL 

ALSO  SOLID  PACK 


t*\-vw  W^^W?    ^    ™    *^ 


BROADENING  HORIZONS  FOR  YOUR  CHILD 


by  Connie  Collins 


Late 
Evening 
Supper 

Idea! 


Serve  cold  cooked  meats,  a 
variety  of  cheese,  olives,  pickles, 
white  and  rye  bread,  sliced  tomatoes 
and  those  wonderful,  wonderful 
Clover  Club  Potato  Chips.  How 
your  guests  will  love  them  and 
you! 


Mix  two  3-oz.  packages  cream 
cheese,  one  7-oz,  can  minced  clams, 
well  drained,  1  tsp.  Worcestershire 
sauce,  2  drops  tobasco,  one-eighth 
tsp.  salt.  Then  dip  in  those  big, 
flavorful  Clover  Club  Potato  Chips. 
A  perfect  appetizer  for  warm  sum- 
mer afternoons  and  evenings. 

HOW  to  Keep  Cool- 
Doctors  say  your  body  needs  ex- 
tra salt  during  hot  weather.  The 
pure  table  salt  on  each  delicious 
Clover  Club  Potato  Chip  therefore 
helps  you  keep  cool.  And  remem- 
ber —  these  are  the  chips  that  are 
as  digestible  as  baked  potatoes  —  so 
eat  all  you  want.  They're  now 
double  wax-wrapped  to  preserve 
freshness  longer.  And  now  try 
Clover  Club's  brand  new  Cheese 
Potato  Chips!    They're  grand,  too! 


Ctover  Club 


lHSu   *J4elen    (ureaq    (/t 


reen 


POTATO  CHIPS 


66/^hildren   seem   truly  to  be  in 

I  .  the  image  that  their  parents 
■     make   them." 

Dr.  Henry  Link  believes  the  most 
important  problem  confronting  our 
educational  system  is  a  growing 
intellect  and  a  stationary  or  shrink- 
ing personality.  Upon  its  solution, 
he  declares,  depends  our  individual 
happiness. 

The  Yankee  definition  of  person- 
ality is:  "When  I  met  him,  I  was 
looking  down;  and  when  I  left  him, 
I  was  looking  up." 

As  a  young  schoolteacher  I  found 
it  interesting  that  the  child  with  a 
warm,  affectionate  nature  grew  into 
an  adult  of  the  same  type.  What 
a  joy  to  meet  one  of  these  young 
men  or  women  in  later  years — their 
faces  almost  "electrified."  One  im- 
mediately had  a  "looking-up" 
feeling,  remembering  teaching  years 
with  a  surge  of  happiness. 

The  cold,  impersonal  youngster 
grew  into  the  boy  or  girl  with  an 
I-vaguely-remember-you    manner. 

Which  personality  do  you  wish 
for  your  pigtailed  Susan  or  button- 
nosed  Bill?  To  a  great  extent,  it  is 
up  to  the  parents!  It  isn't  a  simple 
matter,  training  a  child  to  become  a 
gracious,  sunny  personality  if  every- 
thing of  an  opposite  nature  is  indi- 
cated. But  in  many  instances  it  can 
be  done. 

My  neighbor  insists  that  her  three 
sons  contribute  their  share  in  keep- 
ing the  garden,  basement,  attic, 
and  house  neat,  clean,  and  attrac- 
tive. They  help  with  the  dishes  and 
do  many  household  tasks. 

"Although  we  give  Bob,  Bill,  and 
Bernard  a  small  allowance,  they 
are  never  paid  for  what  they  do 
toward     keeping     the     house     and 


578 


garden  charming  and  livable.  Their 
father  and  I  want  them  to  feel  they 
'belong'  here  as  much  as  we,  that 
the  house  and  garden  are  as  much 
theirs  as  ours."  Her  eyes  danced 
with  pride  as  she  spoke. 

Any  discipline  that  leads  to  a 
substantial  set  of  habits  is  worth 
while,  since  habits  are  the  child! 
Training  that  automatically  causes 
the  right  response  solves  many 
future  problems. 

"We  stress  gracious  home  man- 
ners," another  mother  relates.  "I 
believe  manners  are  next  to  good 
morals  in  maintaining  a  happy 
household." 

Since  small  children  have  an 
utter  lack  of  mature  judgment,  it 
is  feasible  to  guide  them  by  the 
parents'  wisdom  and  understanding 
in  any  constructive  way  that  accom- 
plishes the  best  and  most  lasting 
results.  There  are  many  ways  of 
broadening  your  young  one's  hori- 
zons: 

Help  him  acquire  a  love  for  read- 
ing while  young.  Some  of  his  most 
charming  companions  through  life 
will  be  those  he  meets  in  books. 
"The  child  who  reads  is  the  child 
who  leads." 

Instil  in  him  an  interest  in  others, 
teaching  him  to  have  the  same 
manners  for  every  human  being. 

Send  him  on  the  path  of  becoming 
a  world  citizen.  At  an  early  age 
interest  him  in  world  affairs,  en- 
couraging the  courses  in  current 
events  in  school.  Discuss  affairs  of 
the  day  at  mealtime  and  family 
gatherings.  Encourage  the  forming 
of  opinions  on  important  subjects. 
Teach  him  to  understand  and  as- 
sist minority  races  to  feel  pride  in 
themselves. 

Help  him  lead  a  balanced  life 
which  includes  work,  play,  and  re- 
ligion. Influence  him  in  having  a 
deep  and  abiding  faith  in  the  Father 
of  us  all.  Instil  the  common  decen- 
cies of  life,  weeding  out  selfishness 
and  self-centeredness. 

Remember  the  value  of  hobbies 
and  skills  in  games.  Help  your 
young  modern  to  become  outstand- 
ing in  at  least  one  thing,  so  he  can, 
on  occasion,  sparkle  and  excel.  This 
[Continued  on  page  580) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


SAFEWAY  answers 
the  question: 


How 


of  the  Food  Dollar  goes 

for  SELLING  ? 


When  discussing  the  costs  of  food  distribution,  people  sometimes  assume 
that  the  whole  of  such  costs,  or  a  major  part  of  them,  are  run  up  by  retailing. 

Charts  which  show  the  farmer's  share  of  the  food  dollar  spent  by  cus- 
tomers as  50$. —  and  label  the  other  50$  as  "distribution" — do  not  make  it 
plain  that  retailing  is  just  one  of  many  costs  paid  out  of  the  food  dollar. 

This  50$  total  cost  called  distribution  also  includes  charges  for  storage 
and  freight,  for  grading,  cleaning,  processing,  packing  and  wholesaling. 

Further,  this  50$  is  an  average  for  all  farm  crops.  Actually  the  farmer's 
share  varies  widely  between  different  crops,  depending  on  the  amount  of 
processing  and  other  services  required.  But  on  the  basis  of  this  "average" 
food  dollar,  let's  look  at  Safeway  costs  ... 


\£  What  part  of  the  food  dollar  is  spent 
by  Safeway  to  do  the  retailer  job? 

A  Less  than  14£.  Yes,  to  cover  all  our 
costs  from  the  time  we  put  farmers'  prod- 
ucts in  our  stores  until  we  sell  them  to  cus- 
tomers, it  takes  less  than  14^  out  of  every 
dollar  spent  in  our  stores.  This  14^  pays 
our  day-to-day  retail  costs  —  such  costs 
as  wages,  rents,  taxes,  displaying  food 
attractively,  and  inviting  the  public  with 
advertising  to  come  and  buy.  This  14< 
also  includes  a  profit  for  Safeway. 

V£  How  much  profit  does  Safeway  earn? 

A  Safeway's  profit  in  1949  was  \x/$t 
per  dollar  of  food  sales  at  our  stores.  All 
our  costs  of  doing  a  retail  business,  plus 
a  profit,  total  less  than  14£. 

V£  Is  this  14/  out  of  each  dollar  of 
Safeway  sales  smaller  than  the  aver- 
age costs  for  these  same  functions? 

A  Yes,  14*1  is  a  considerably  smaller  than 
average  retailing  cost,  because  Safeway 

JULY  1950 


handles  and  sells  more  food  per  store  and 
per  employee.  Safeway's  system  is  one  of 
low  cost  distribution  of  food.  The  effi- 
ciency of  this  system  allows  Safeway  to 
return  to  farmers  both  more  total  dollars 
and  a  larger  share  of  each  food  dollar. 


Is  this  14/  per  dollar  of  sales  more — 
or  less  — than  Safeway  has  operated 
for  in  the  past? 

Less.  The  part  of  the  food  dollar  for 
which  Safeway  performs  its  services  is 
lower  now  than  it  was  10  years  ago.  Of 
course,  the  dollar  volume  of  our  sales  is 
larger  now,  due  in  part  to  increased  food 


prices.  But  our  labor  and  other  costs  have 
climbed  even  more  sharply,  requiring  us 
to  seek  constantly  new  ways  to  operate 
more  efficiently.  With  total  population  and 
per  capita  food  consumption  both  larger 
than  in  1940  ...  we  can  do  our  job  today 
for  a  smaller  share  of  more  dollars  from 
more  customers. 

•  •         • 

The  Safeway  idea  of  selling  more  food 
per  store  and  per  employee  isn't  ours 
alone.  We  are  in  free  competition  with 
many  stores  working  toward  the  same  end. 
It  seems  to  us  that  is  good  for  every- 
body— for  farmer,  customer  and  store  man 
alike.  We  invite  you  to  test  our  ideas  of  how 
a  store  should  be  run  by  doing  your  food 
shopping  at  Safeway,  where  almost  one- 
fifth  of  all  customers  are  farm  families. 


SAFEWAY 
STORES 


579 


TWfc^  IS   TASTIER!  .  .  . 
ftitfUf    IS  "TOPS"!  ..  . 

*«r»/T...m.'... 

Try. . .  compare  . ...  see  how  Tang's 
magic  "flavor  factor"  brings  out  all 
the  goodness;  adds  new  zest  and 
sparkle  to  all  your  dishes! 


~fa*U) 


The    Perfect 

Salad 

Dressing 


MLLEYS: 


ITS  GOOD 


let'  your 

Own  "feste 

Make  3 

bndetfuf 

Discovery/ 


Maybe  ifs  been  years  since  yov  tasted 
evaporated  milk.  But  since  then  a  remark- 
able change  has  taken  place  —  for  today's 
Morning  Milk  has  a  flavor  you  associate 
with  rich  country  cream. 

This  means  you  can  enjoy  the  conven- 
ience and  economy  of  Morning  Milk  in  all 
recipes  calling  for  ordinary  milk  or  cream. 
And  Morning  Milk's  smooth  texture  and  rich 
flavor  actually  improve  your  recipes! 


It's  the  delicious 

flavor  that 

makes  the  difference! 


MORNING 
MILK 


BROADENING  HORIZONS  FOR  YOUR  CHILD 


(Continued  from  page  578) 
is  a  good  morale  and  ego-builder, 
developing     confidence     and     self- 
esteem. 

Speak  often  of  the  value  of 
friendship,  of  money  honestly- 
earned,  of  nature  and  '  beauty  of 
all  kinds. 

Tell  your  Jack  and  Jill,  "Aim 
high!"  Help  them  to  learn  emo- 
tional maturity  and  self-control. 
Shorten  rather  than  prolong  their 
childhood. 


Compliment  every  step  in  the 
right  direction.  Overlook  many 
faults!  Let  them  know,  however, 
love  and  respect  must  be  earned. 

Help  build  the  habit  of  work  and 
doing  things  for  others. 

Encourage  courtesy  and  gracious, 
kindly  manners;  help  develop  a 
sense  of  humor  and  appreciation  of 
the   other    person's    viewpoint. 

And  last  but  not  least,  teach  him 
to  stand  on  his  own  feet  and  to 
think  [or  himself. 


ON  THE  BOOKRACK 


I 


(Concluded  [com  page  538) 
HOW  TO  WRITE  FOR 
HOMEMAKERS 

(Lou  Richardson  and  Genevieve  Calla- 
han. The  Iowa  State  College  Press, 
Ames,  Iowa.  1949.  206  pages.  $3.00.) 
f  "your  mind  is  full  of  good  ideas 
that  keep  nagging  at  you  to  be 
written — and  good  ideas  that  you 
would  sincerely  like  to  pass  along  to 
others,"  you  have  the  first  qualification 
of  a  successful  writer  for  homemakers, 
say  the  authors  of  this  excellent  book. 
The  book  typifies  exceptionally  well 
the  clear  and  friendly  style  which  ap- 
peals to  homemakers.  "Write  to  per- 


sons rather  than  about  things,"  the 
authors  also  state.  Dealing  with  every 
phase  of  homemaking  journalism  from 
newspaper  and  magazine  articles  to 
speeches,  programs,  and  radio  work, 
the  text  is  never  dull  or  tiring. 

The  authors  suggest  that  you  visual- 
ize your  audience,  analyze  your  prob- 
lem, organize  your  thinking  to  present 
a  logical  solution  to  it,  and  then 
dramatize  or  give  that  solution  an  un- 
usual twist  that  will  make  people  re- 
member it.  This  is  the  basic  formula 
for  success  in  writing  which  is  carried 
through  each  chapter  of  this  valuable 
handbook  for  would-be  homemaker 
journalists. — B.  S. 


SEARCH  DILIGENTLY 


(Concluded  from  page  556) 

Home,  both  being  of  the  parish  of 
Woolhampton.  Farther  back  in  the 
registers  was  identified  the  family 
of  nine  children  of  Peter  and  Ann 
Appleby,  one  of  whom  was  John, 
christened  16  March  1678/9 — none 
other  than  the  father  of  Mary 
Appleby. 

Martha  Home,  his  wife,  was 
christened  28  January  1667/8  at 
Woolhampton.  one  of  the  six  chil- 
dren to  Richard  Home,  the  "parish 
clerke,"  and  his  wife  Joan. 

To  review  the  success  attained,  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  pro- 
bate courts,  twenty-six  wills  and 
administrations  had  been  extracted 
and  many  more  read.  Census  rec- 
ords of  twenty-seven  villages  had 
been  carefully  searched;  eight 
country  parishes  and  one  town  par- 
ish had  been  visited  and  records 
searched;  and  the  principal  archive 
of  the  diocese  had  been  visited  at 


580 


Salisbury  where  dusty  and  dry 
parchments  had  been  scrutinized. 
These  searches  effected  the  identifi- 
cation of  over  two  hundred  direct 
blood  relatives  of  the  late  Melvin 
J.  Ballard,  consisting  of  the  dis- 
covery of: 

Six  5th  great-grandparents 
Six  4th  great-grandparents 
Four  3rd  great-grandparents 
Two  2nd  great-grandparents 
Two  of  the  great-grandparents, 

and  the  finding  of  five  new  sur- 
names of  wives  of  the  ancestors. 

Encouraged  by  the  opening  of 
these  new  avenues  of  inquiry,  and 
by  the  widening  scope  of  the  analy- 
sis, the  family  is  now  proceeding 
with  confidence  into  further  re- 
search, and  this  Ballard  investiga- 
tion is  only  at  its.  beginning.  There 
are  numerous  records  yet  to  be 
searched  in  attempts  to  trace  the 
ancestry  back  to  still  more  ancient 
times. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


How  jobs  were  created 


How  hundreds  of  businesses  were  helped 


How  a  new  source  of  oil  was  tapped 


The  story  behind  deepwater  oil 


A  few  years  ago,  a  test  well  proved  there  is 
oil  under  the  great  Continental  Shelf  that 
extends  out  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 
although  the  well  did  not  produce  much, 
it  started  one  of  the  most  unusual — and 
expensive — drilling  programs  in  history. 

So  far,  in  the  search  for  underwater  oil, 
seven  drilling  platforms  have  been  built, 
similar  to  the  one  above,  as  far  as  10  miles 
offshore  and  in  water  as  much  as  65  feet 
deep.  They  are  set  on  tubular  steel  pilings 
driven  250  feet  through  the  ocean's  bot- 
tom, for  they  must  be  strong  enough  to 
withstand  Gulf  hurricanes. 

The  story  behind  this  operation  is  the 
story  of  risk . . .  and  of  determination  to  do 
everything  possible  to  find  oil  for  the  grow- 
ing needs  of  motorists,  farms  and  industries. 
Each  underwater  field  costs  millions  of  dol- 
lars more  than  any  of  equal  size  drilled  on 


land,  and  although  oil  has  been  found,  not 
enough  has  been  produced  yet  to  repay 
more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  costs. 

Meanwhile,  the  money  being  risked  is 
creating  many  jobs,  spreading  to  hundreds 
of  large  and  small  businesses  .  .  .  and  help- 
ing to  keep  our  economy  free,  competitive 
and  strong. 


JULY  1950 


581 


SURPRISING  THINGS  ARE  HAPPENING 
TO  OLD  FAMILIAR  FOODS!      . 

Next  time  you  invite  to  dinner 
that  friend  who  pushes  his  food 
around — surprise  the  life  out  of  him! 
Fix  chops  with  Ac' cent ! 

Ac'cent  is  like  nothing  you've 
ever  known.  Not  a  flavoring  (it 
adds  no  flavor  of  its  own),  Ac'cent 
intensifies  the  good  natural  flavors 
already  in  foods — in  meats,  poultry, 
gravies,   soups,   vegetables. 

In  working  this  wonder,  some 
scientists  say,  Ac'cent  also  urges 
the  taste  buds  to  a  keener  apprecia- 
tion of  food  flavors. 

You  can  buy  Ac'cent  (a  99+% 
pure  monosodium  glutamate  in 
crystal  form)  in  many  grocery  stores. 
If  you  can't  find  it  in  your  vicinity, 
drop  us  a  card.  Amino  Products 
Division,  Dept.  1-7,  International 
Minerals  &  Chemical  Corporation, 
20  N.  Wacker  Drive,  Chicago  6,  111. 

In  handy  shakers 


SEEK  FIRST  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 


singly 

Triide  M.-irk  "Ac'cent"  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off. 


(Continued  from  page  549) 

with  concentration  six  days  a  week 
and  rest  on  the  seventh.  With 
Harvey  Fletcher  this  has  become 
a  tried  and  established  principle. 

The  Sunday  following  graduation 
was  fast  day.  George  Albert  Smith, 
then  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve,  was  in  Chicago  with  Presi- 
dent Joseph  F.  Smith.  Of  the 
meeting  they  attended  that  day 
President  George  Albert  Smith  had 
this  to  say  to  students  of  Brigham 
Young  University  some  years  ago: 

More  than  a  dozen  Latter-day  Saint 
students  from  this  part  of  the  world  had 
graduated  from  their  colleges  and  were 
present  in  the  meeting.  .  .  .  Testimonies 
were  borne,  but  I  was  disappointed  that 
not  one  of  them  bore  a  testimony  that  he 
knew  that  the  gospel  was  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation.  .  .  .  Near  the  close 
of  the  meeting  a  young  boy  stood  up  and 
said: 

"I  was  reared  in  a  Latter-day  Saint 
home.  I  was  taught  to  pray  at  my  mother's 
knee.  We  always  had  a  blessing  on  the 
food  and  family  prayers  daily.  After 
finishing  high  school,  my  parents  made 
the  sacrifice  of  sending  me  to  the  Brigham 
Young  University.  .  .  .  When  I  graduated 
from  the  B.  Y„  my  parents  informed  me 
that  they  intended  to  send  me  east  to 
finish  my  education,  and  I  was  overjoyed 
to  know  that  I  would  have  that  privilege." 
[Actually,  as  has  been  indicated,  he  was 
able   to    make    his    own    way    financially.] 

"Some  of  my  friends  who  were  profes- 
sors said  to  me,  'When  you  go  east  to 
school  you  are  going  to  have  disappoint- 
ments. You  will  be  under  the  supervision 
of  educated  men  who  do  not  believe  what 
you  believe,  and  they  will  probably  upset 
some  of  your  ideas,  so  don't  be  too  ready 
to  bear  your  testimony.' 

"That  was  more  than  three  years  ago. 
When  I  first  came,  I  was  a  little  nervous 
because  I  felt  I  would  be  embarrassed  if 
I  had  to  surrender  any  of  the  teachings 
of  my  parents  to  those  who  might  be 
better  educated.  I  remember  that  my  par- 
ents told  me  when  I  left  home  that  if  I 
would  observe  the  Word  of  Wisdom  and 
keep  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  I 
would  succeed  in  school  and  retain  my 
faith. 

"I  have  now  finished  my  course  and  re- 
ceived my  diploma.  During  these  years 
I  have  been  trained  under  scholarly  men, 
but  during  the  entire  time  I  have  heard 
nothing  that  conflicted  with  the  teachings 
of  my  childhood.  I  stand  here  today  to 
say  that  I  know  better  than  I  have  ever 
known  before  that  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  is  the  true 
church  and  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation.  I  thank  my  Heavenly  Father 
for  the  influence  of  real  Latter-day  Saint 
parents  and  the  blessing  of  a  real  Latter- 
day  Saint  home,  and  I  thank  my  Heavenly 
Father  for  the  privilege  of  being  here 
today  that  I  may  bear  my  testimony  that 


582 


God  lives,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and 
that  Joseph  Smith  was  a  prophet  of  the 
Living  God." 

As  he  sat  down  I  looked  over  the 
audience,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  there 
was  not  a  dry  eye  in  the  house.  ...  I 
turned  to  the  man  next  to  me  and  asked, 
"Who  is  that  boy?"  He  answered,  "That 
is  Harvey  Fletcher,  who  has  just  received 
for  the  course  he  has  taken  the  highest 
honor  that  has  ever  been  given  by  his 
university."* 

In  spite  of  tempting  offers  to  work 

in  the  east,  the  young  Ph.D.  re- 
turned to  Brigham  Young  Univer- 
sity because  he  felt  a  moral  obliga- 
tion to  do  so.  At  the  time  he  was 
the  only  member  of  the  faculty  with 
a  doctor's  degree.  He  reorganized 
the  department  of  physics,  and  some 
indication  of  his  ability  as  a  teacher 
comes  from  the  fact  that  from  his 
classes  came  such  scholars  as  Verne 
Knudsen,  now  dean  of  the  graduate 
school  at  U.C.L.A.;  and  Carl  F. 
Eyring,  Wayne  B.  Hales,  Milton 
Marshall,  and  Joseph  Nichols  of  the 
B.Y.U.  faculty. 

Each  year  at  the  close  of  the 
spring  quarter  he  received  a  re- 
newal of  an  offer  to  work  for  the 
Western  Electric  Laboratories.  But 
each  time  for  five  years  he  turned 
it  down.  Then  he  approached  Presi- 
dent Joseph  F.  Smith  with  the 
problem.  President  Smith  advised, 
"Go,  and  accept  it  as  an  oppor- 
tunity. If  you  live  your  religion, 
you  can  do  more  for  the  Church  out 
there  than  you  can  here." 

That  settled  the  matter.  For 
the  next  thirty-three  years,  until 
compulsory  retirement  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five,  he  did  research  for  the 
Western  Electric  Laboratories, 
which  later  became  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories. 

At  first  he  was  put  in  charge  of 
transmission  engineering.  But  of- 
ficials of  the  company,  realizing  that 
some  of  the  major  problems  of  com- 
munication lay  in  the  fields  of 
speech  and  hearing,  set  him  to  work 
in  these  fields.  He  soon  came  to  be 
regarded  as  a  world  authority  on 
these  matters.  Out  of  his  basic  re- 
search came  the  principles  on  which 
modern  voice  communication  is 
based. 

In  1933,  with  the  death  of  H.  D. 
Arnold,  director  of  research,  Dr. 
Fletcher  was  put  in  charge  of  re- 
search   in    the    field    of    physics    as 

'The  Deseret  News,  Dec.  21,  1946 

(Continued   on  page   584) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


_____ — — . : — -  : 


STYLE  CHIPS 


NUTRITION 


YOUR    BABY 


ONE  JUMP   AHEAD 


PTA 


Appealing  to  women,  with  a  side  trip  "for  men 
only,"  the  Deseret  News'  Mid-Week  Edition 
is  another  first — an  exclusive  with  the  Mountain 
West's  first  family  newspaper.  (Other  metro- 
politan dailies  have  since  adopted  the  idea,  with 
credits  to  the  Deseret  News.) 

This  "second  Sunday  edition"  of  your  Deseret 
News  has  not  increased  the  cost  of  the  paper 
to  you.  Mail  or  carrier  delivered,  still  at  the 
same  low  $1.30  per  month. 

(Special  paid-in-advance  rate  of  $4.50  for  6  months  in  mail- delivery  areas) 


Phone  4-2581 
8  South  Main,  Salt  Lake  City,   Utah 


JULY  1950 


583 


SEEK  FIRST  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 


(Continued  from  page  582) 

well  as  acoustics.  This  led  to  his 
appointment  as  director  of  research 
for  the  Bell  Laboratories,  the  posi- 
tion he  held  at  the  time  of  his  retire- 
ment in  1949.  In  this  position  he 
was  in  charge  of  what  is  generally 
regarded  as  the  outstanding  labora- 
tory of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

He  smilingly  speaks  of  his  record 
of    professional    experience    as    his 


"Glamor  Sheet."  It  is  a  star- 
studded  list  of  appointments  and 
honors.  He  helped  found  the 
Acoustical  Society  of  America  and 
was  its  first  president.  On  the  twen- 
tieth anniversary  of  its  organiza- 
tion he  was  made  an  honorary 
member.  The  only  other  man  who 
has  been  so  recognized  is  Thomas 
A.  Edison. 

He  has  received  honorary  doctor's 


Low-Cost  Allis-Chalmers 


IB  Tractor 


-1 


For  All-J«b. "Mtf  •«  NW»leMnte 


Here's  a  hard-working  labor- 
saver  that  knows  no  season.  The  Allis- 
Chalmers  IB  Tractor  with  its  attachments  —  broom, 
snowplow,  crane  and  sickle  bar  —  handles  city  maintenance 
jobs  the  year   round. 


SPRING^ 
SUMMIT 


Sweeps    streets    and    gutters,    hauls    trash    carts,    pulls    drags 
•      and    rollers. 

Mows    weeds   along    road    shoulders   with    sickle    bar,    main- 
tains large  grass  areas  with  gang  mowers. 

Sweeps   leaves,   cleans   walks,    roads,   streets  and  driveways. 


iVJlMTtR  •   "  *      Plows  snow,  clears  and  sweeps  walks,  alleys,  other  hard-to- 
'_  *  get-at   places. 

"Quick-Hitch"  drawbar  allows  operator  to  hook  onto  and  re- 
lease loads  from  the  seat .  . .  makes  his  job  safer,  easier.  Com- 
pact design,  short  turning  radius  and  low  center  of  gravity  en- 
ables it  to  work  quickly  in  close  quarters,  safely  on  steep  grades. 
Ask  your  Allis-Chalmers  dealer  to  show  you  how  the  com- 
pact, powerful  IB  Tractor  can  reduce  maintenance  costs  the 
year   round. 

ALLIS-CHALMERS 

■  TRACTOR    DIVISION     •    MILWAUKEE    1,    U.S.A. 


584 


degrees  from  Columbia  University, 
Kenyon  College,  Stevens  Institute, 
Case  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
the  University  of  Utah. 

He  served  as  president  of  the 
American  Physical  Society  in  1945; 
as  vice-president  of  the  American 
Academy  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  in  1937-38;  as  president  of 
the  American  Society  for  the  Hard 
of  Hearing  in  1929-30;  and  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Acoustical  Society  of 
America  in  1929-30.  In  addition  to 
membership  in  these  organizations 
of  distinguished  scientists,  he  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Electrical  Engineers,  the  Na- 
tional Academy  of  Sciences,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  Sigma  Xi,  and  the 
American  Otological  Society.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Hearing,  Division  of  Medical  Sci- 
ences, of  the  National  Research 
Council.  During  World  War  II 
he  was  chief  of  the  section  on 
acoustics  of  the  national  defense  re- 
search committee.  He  is  the  holder 
of  almost  a  score  of  patents. 

Few  men  of  American  science 
have  been  so  widely  recognized. 

With  all  of  this  he  has  kept  and 
magnified  the  faith  of  the  parents 
who  in  his  youth  sacrificed  to  set 
him  on  his  way.  He  has  grown  up 
with  the  Church  in  New  York  City. 
For  ten  years  he  served  as  president 
of  the  New  York  Branch,  and  in 
1936  he  was  set  apart  as  president 
of  the  New  York  Stake.  This  posi- 
tion he  filled  with  honor  until  1942, 
when  his  release  was  made  neces- 
sary by  war  work  which  kept  him 
traveling  about  the  country. 

He  tells  the  story  of  overhearing 
the  conversation  of  two  men  while 
riding  the  ferry  from  his  home  in 
New  Jersey  to  his  office  in  New 
York.  One  asked  the  other,  "Did 
you  know  that  that  man  Fletcher 
at  the  Bell  Laboratories  is  a  Mor- 
mon bishop?"  "Bishop!"  exclaimed 
the  other,  "he's  an  archbishop." 

There  is  another  standard  by 
which  to  measure  the  achievements 
of  the  boy  from  Provo  and  the  girl 
he  took  on  a  honeymoon  to  Chi- 
cago. They  have  six  children — one 
girl  and  five  boys.  The  daughter  is 
successfully  rearing  a  family  of  her 
own.  Each  of  the  five  boys  holds  a 
responsible  position  in  industry  or  is 
a  successful  student.  And  all  are 
active  in  the  Church  and  have  held 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


positions  of  responsibility  in  the 
wards  and  branches  in  which  they 
have  lived. 

Dr.  Harvey  Fletcher  was  retired 
last  year.  But  he  has  not  stopped 
thinking  and  doing.  As  a  twenty- 
year-old  research  student  he  never 
dreamed  such  wonderful  dreams  as 
he  now  envisions  as  a  sixty-five 
year-old  scientist-emeritus.  More- 
over, he  now  has  the  background 
and  the  prestige  to  make  many  of 
those  dreams  come  true.  He  talks  of 
stereophonic  recording,  for  which  he 
has  been  honored  by  the  American 
Academy  of  Motion  Picture  En- 
gineers, of  electronic  instruments 
which  will  out-perform  the  finest 
symphony  orchestras,  of  opera 
houses  the  like  of  which  have  never 
been  known. 

After  a  few  months  spent  in  the 
area  in  which  he  grew  up,  he  has 
now  returned  east  to  make  realities 
of  some  of  the  things  of  which  he 
has  been  dreaming.  He  is  at 
Columbia  University  with  an  honor- 
ary professorship,  establishing  a 
great  new  field  of  studies  in  acous- 
tics, a  field  which  to  his  ever-reach- 
ing mind  is  as  limitless  as  the  stars. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  muddy 
streets  of  Provo  and  the  dimly- 
lighted  halls  of  Brigham  Young 
University  to  recognition  as  one  of 
the  great  scientists  of  the  world. 
Harvey  Fletcher  has  walked  that 
path  with  honor  to  his  profession, 
to  the  parents  who  placed  their  faith 
in  his  ability,  and  to  the  Church 
whose  standards  he  has  upheld. 


A  Church  History  Travel  Service 

(Continued  from  page  564) 

the  cutting  of  trees  in  that  area  and 
since  then  the  Sacred  Grove  has 
been  left  to  grow  as  nature  has  di- 
rected. 

It  was  while  the  Smith  family 
was  living  on  this  farm  that  the 
Angel  Moroni  visited  Joseph.  It  was 
here  also  that  Joseph  took  the  plates 
when  he  carried  them  from  Hill 
Cumorah  in  1827.  The  Church  now 
owns  the  original  farm  and  some 
additional  acreage  adjoining. 

Three  miles  south  and  east  is 
the  Hill  Cumorah.  The  present 
roads  between  the  two  places  are 
the  same  as  those  used  in  the  days 
of  the  Prophet.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  hill,  near  the  top  and  not  far 
from  the  impressive  monument, 
JULY  1950 


which  faces  the  Sacred  Grove,  is 
the  place  where  the  Book  of 
Mormon  plates  were  deposited  by 
Moroni  and  by  him  delivered  to 
Joseph  Smith.  The  approximate 
place  is  indicated  by  a  small  sign. 
A  beautiful  stone  building  in 
Mayan  style  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
and  at  the  entrance  to  the  road  to 
the  monument  serves  as  both  the 
Bureau  of  Information  for  tourists 
and  friends  and  as  the  home  of 
the  director  and  his  wife  who  are 


missionaries  stationed  there  tcr  serve 
the  public. 

To  reach  Hill  Cumorah  from  Pal- 
myra, the  direct  route  leads  from  the 
"four  corners"  south  on  Canan- 
daigua  Street,  which  becomes  Can- 
andaigua  Road,  to  Cumorah,  exactly 
four  miles.  A  large  sign,  the  Bureau 
of  Information,  and  the  word 
Cumorah  spelled  out  in  hedge 
identify  the  place. 

To  reach  Cumorah  directly  from 
(Continued  on  following  page) 


©*T«* 


TABLE  QUEEN 


% 


Here's  a  loaf  of  extra  value  —  a 
premium  bread  in  every  way, 
thanks  to  skillful  baking  and  the 
use  of  highest  quality  ingredients 
only.  Next  time,  take  Table 
Queen— for  bread  at  its  delicious 
best.  Look  for  it  in  the  sparkling 
white  wrapper. 


^^f^sssiasJ 


mnwn  flavor 

mm  WTAMINS 


VMM.,,., 

:.:;:i:.:;;;:;wft.::::  ^PW^MZ-'X 


585 


CHURCH  HISTORY  TRAVEL  SERVICE 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

the  Sacred  Grove,  the  route  is  south 
approximately  one  mile  to  the  first 
road  running  east  (left),  then  one 
mile  east  to  the  first  road  running 
south  (right),  Canandaigua  Road, 
then  south  one  mile  to  Cumorah. 

In  1829,  when  the  manuscript 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  ready 
for  publication,  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  printer  Martin  Harris  mort- 
gaged one  of  several  farms  he 
owned  in  the  vicinity  of  Palmyra. 
The  farm  he  mortgaged  was  the  one 
on  which  he  was  living  at  the  time. 
It  is  a  little  more  than  a  mile  north 
of  the  "four  corners"2  on  Church 
Street,  which  is  a  continuation, 
north  of  Main  Street,  of  Canandai- 
gua Street  which  runs  into  Palmyra 
from  the  south  and  which,  in  turn, 
becomes  Maple  Avenue.  After  it 
leaves  the  village  of  Palmyra  it 
crosses  the  present  New  York  State 
Barge  Canal  which  originally  was 
the  world-famed  Erie  Canal. 


2Said  to  be  one  of  the  few  places  in  the  world 
where  churches  occupy  all  four  corners  of  the  inter- 
section. 


At  the  farm  is  a  Latter-day  Saint 
family  who  welcome  visitors  and 
tell  the  history  of  the  farm  that 
played  a  very  important  part  in 
the  bringing  forth  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  A  large  lakestone  house 
on  the  left  with  a  sign  in  front 
identifies  the  farm. 

On  Main  Street  in  Palmyra, 
about  one-third  of  a  block  east  of 
the  post  office  and  one  and  one 
third  blocks  east  of  the  "four  cor- 
ners,'' still  stands  the  old  Exchange 
Building  in  which  the  first  edition 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  print- 
ed. It  is  believed,  from  evidence 
still  to  be  seen,  such  as  floors 
stained  with  printer's  ink,  that  the 
composing  and  pressrooms  were 
on  the  third  ( top )  floor,  the  bindery 
on  the  second  floor,  and  the  book- 
store on  the  ground  floor.  The 
present  owner  is  courteous  and  co- 
operative, and  when  conditions  are 
favorable  permits  visitors  to  go 
through  the  building  which  now 
houses   a   department   store. 


An  important  place  of  interest  in 
Palmyra,  but  one  about  which  com- 
paratively few  people  are  informed, 
is  the  grave  of  Alvin  Smith,  Joseph's 
eldest  brother.  Every  person  who 
is  well-informed  in  Church  history 
knows  the  importance  of  the  story 
of  Alvin  Smith.  While  it  is  true 
that  he  took  the  lead,  as  the  eldest 
son,  in  building  the  present  home  on 
the  Joseph  Smith  farm  and  encour- 
aged his  younger  brother  Joseph 
to  follow  the  instructions  of  the 
Angel  Moroni  faithfully  and  with- 
out faltering,  his  real  place  in 
Church  history  was  assured  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  used  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  in 
teaching  a  great  and  vital  truth 
to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  re- 
garding the  celestial  kingdom. 

The  grave  of  Alvin  Smith  is  in 
the  pioneer  cemetery  in  Palmyra. 
It  is  situated  half  a  block  north  of 
the  Methodist  church  at  the  "four 
corners"  where  a  metal  sign  gives 
the  history  of  the  cemetery.  Alvin's 
grave  is  near  the  south  line  of  the 


Sure  gives  you  a  start. . . 

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Look  for  the  famous  Utoco  emblem  on  the  highway. 


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586 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


cemetery  about  half  way  from  east 
to  west.  It  is  reached  by  following 
the  path  into  the  cemetery  and  then 
going  to  the  south  line.  The  origi- 
nal headstone  is  still  in  place 

Palmyra,  key  point  in  this 
month's  area,  is  twenty-three  miles 
southeast  of  Rochester  and  is 
reached  by  highway  thirty-one.  It 
is  sixty-five  miles  west  of  Syracuse 
and  can  be  reached  by  taking  high- 
way 21  to  Palmyra  via  Manchester 
Village  and  Hill  Cumorah.  Ap- 
proaching Palmyra  from  the  south, 
from  the  New  York  City  area,  a 
favorable  route  is  highway  17  to 
Owego,  then  highway  96  to  Man- 
chester, and  highway  21  to  Palmyra, 
via  Hill  Cumorah  which  is  four 
miles  south  of  Palmyra. 

From  eastern  New  York  points, 
highway  31  direct  or  highways  20 
or  5  to  Canandaigua,  then  north  on 
highway  21,  lead  to  Palmyra.  Far- 
ther north  highway  104,  the  "Ridge 
Route,'  can  be  followed  to  William- 
son where  highway  21  intersects 
it  and  follows  southerly  to  Palmyra. 

By  bus,  excellent  service  to  Pal- 
myra is  maintained  from  Rochester, 
twenty-three  miles  northwest,  and 
from  Syracuse,  sixty-five  miles  east. 


and  intermediate  points  including 
Lyons,  the  county  seat  of  Wayne 
County,  fifteen  miles,  and  Newark 
(N.Y.)r  nine  miles.  There  is  no 
regular  bus  service  from  Canandai- 
gua to  Palmyra. 

By  air  the  most  satisfactory  ap- 
proach is  from  Rochester  where  ex- 
cellent air  service  is  maintained  by 
American  Airlines  on  one  of  its 
principal  routes.  The  same  service 
is  available  approaching  from  Syra- 
cuse, but  the  distance  to  Palmyra 
is  much  greater. 

Next  month  the  Auburn,  New 
York  area,  where  Brigham  Young 
spent  his  young  manhood,  became 
an  expert  carpenter  and  builder, 
married,  and  set  himself  up  in 
business,  will  be  discussed. 

Note:  When  names  of  railroads,  air- 
lines, or  bus  lines  are  given,  it  should 
not  be  implied  that  there  is  any  connection 
or  arrangement  with  such  concerns.  This 
service  is  entirely  independent  and  gives 
the  best  information  available  without 
influence   from   any    outside   source. 

Persons  traveling  from  the  New  York 
area  to  Palmyra  can  visit  the  Peter 
Whitmer  home  in  the  Town  of  Fayette, 
Seneca  County,  New  York,  by  turning 
west  three  miles  south  of  Waterloo  and 
going  one  mile  -west.  A  sign  on  the  left 
{going  north)   indicates  the  intersection. 


SCOUTING  FOR  11  -  YEAR  -  OLD  ROYS 


(Concluded  from  page  565) 

National  and  regional  scouters, 
when  they  have  had  carefully  ex- 
plained to  them  the  new  program 
for  eleven-year-olds  in  the  Church, 
have  been  very  enthusiastic  about 
it.  They  see  in  the  plan,  as  we  do, 
the  possibility  of  getting  our  youth 
out  into  the  open  in  a  planned  pro- 
gram that  will  do  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  teach  them  the  ideals 
of  scouting,  which  are  the  ideals 
of  the  Church 

President  George  Albert  Smith, 
prophet,  seer,  and  revelator,  and 
ranking  scouter  of  the  Church,  ex- 


presses his  feelings  and  ours,  as 
well  as  the  policy  of  the  M.I.A. 
and   the   Church,   in  the   following 

words: 

After  many  years  of  close  contact  with 
scouting  through  national  and  local 
leaders,  and  with  many  Scouts  of  various 
faiths,  I  am  convinced  that  participation 
in  this  splendid  program  is  one  of  the 
most  worth-while  experiences  our  boys 
can  have. 

The  ideals  of  scouting,  like  the  princi- 
ples of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  in- 
tended to  make  boys  better  companions, 
more  useful  citizens,  and  happier  indi- 
viduals. 

It  is  my  desire  to  see  scouting  extended 
to  every  boy  in  the  Church  where  that  is 
at  all  possible. 


LEHI  IN  THE  DESERT 


(Continued  [com  page  567) 

all  about  everlasting  hills,  but  who 
ever  heard  of  a  steadfast  valley? 
The  Arabs,  to  be  sure.  For  them 
the  valley,  and  not  the  mountain,  is 
the  symbol  of  permanence.  It  is 
not  the  mountain  of  refuge  to  which 
they  flee,  but  the  valley  of  refuge. 

JULY  1950 


The  great  depressions  that  run  for 
hundreds  of  miles  across  the  Ara- 
bian peninsula  pass  for  the  most 
part  through  plains  devoid  of  moun- 
tains.281 It  is  in  these  prehistoric 
riverbeds  alone  that  water,  vegeta- 
tion, and  animal  life  are  to  be  found, 

(Continued  on  following  page) 


How  many 
salutes  does  a 
governor  rate? 


What  was  the 
largest  baby 
ever  born  ? 


When  do 
goldfish 
spawn?  j 


When  was  the 
Liberty  Bell 
in  Utah? 

L 


21 2,26  5 

TIMES   LAST  YEAR 

The  celebrated  New  York 
Times  recently  announced  with 
pride  that  its  Public  Information 
Service  had  answered  140,326 
questions  for  readers  during  1948. 
Needless  to  say,  we  of  The  Salt 
Lake  Tribune  and  Salt  Lake  Tele- 
gram are  therefore  doubly  proud 
of  the  212,26!)  questions  that  were 
answered  by  our  Library  Infor- 
mation  Service  during   1949. 

We  are  delighted  that  our 
readers  look  to  us  for  authori- 
tative answers  to  their  questions 
and  problems.  More  than  20,000 
employe  hours  were  spent  last 
year  to  maintain  this  reader  serv- 
ice which  we  feel  helps  build 
and  maintain  the  excellent  repu- 
tation for  public  confidence  and 
service  which  The  Salt  Lake 
Tribune  and  Salt  Lake  Telegram 
enjoy. 

The  Salt  Lake  Tribune 
Salt  Lake  Telegram 

Answers  to  questions  above; 


1 — Nineteen 
3 — April  or  May 


2 —  1 8  pounds  at  birth 
4— July  11, 1915 

587 


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Essasztsur 


Lehi  in  the  Desert 

{Continued  from  preceding  page) 
when  all  else  is  desolation."82  They 
offer  the  Arab  the  only  chance  of 
escaping  detection  from  his  enemies 
and  death  from  hunger  and  thirst. 
The  qualities  of  firmness  and  stead- 
fastness, of  reliable  protection  and 
sure  refuge  when  all  else  fails, 
which  other  nations  attribute  nat- 
urally to  mountains,  the  Arabs  at- 
tribute to  valleys.2S3 

(  To  be  continued ) 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

201Ibn  Qotaiba,  Introduction  au  Livre  de  la 
Poesie  et  des  Poetes,  Muqaddamatu  Kitabi  sh- 
Shi're  iva  sh-Shu'ara  (ed.  Gaudefroy-Demombynes, 
Paris,    1947)    Pt.    15 

-8L Arabia    Felix,    p.    153 

263Antoine  de  Saint-Exupery,  Wind,  Sand,  and 
Stars     (N.Y.,     Reynal    &    Hitchcock.     1939) 

^Kitab  Taghriba  Bani  Hilal  (Pub.  Moh.  Hashim 
in    Syria)    p.    54 

26-7GoIdriher,  op.  cit.  I,  67-69.  Brockelmann  and 
Jacob   say    the    same 

2™Id.    70f 

mid.    p.   59 

2eRM.    pp.    72-75 

26»Ibn  Qotaiba,  op.  cit.,  Pt.  23;  Goldziher,  p.  74: 
the   saj'   was  very  repetitious  in   form 

^Isaiah  V,  1-7;  P.  Cersoy,  "V Apologue  de  la 
Vigne,"    Rev.    Biblique    8    (1899),    40-47 

271Ibn    Qotaiba,     op.    cit.,    p.    54f,    n.    70 

273"I  cannot  well  explain  the  effect  of  Arab 
poetry,  on  one  who  has  not  visited  the  Desert.  Apart 
from  the  pomp  of  words,  and  the  music  of  the 
sound,  there  is  a  dreaminess  of  idea,  etc."  Pilg.  to 
Al-Madinah  II,  99.  Lehi's  language  is  of  this  simple, 
noble,    but    hazy    kind. 

27SGust.  Richter,  "Zur  Entstehungsgeschichte  der 
altarabischen  Qaside,"  Deutsche  Morgentandische 
Ges.  Ztschr.  92  (1939),  p.  557f.  The  passage  cited 
is    from    'Antar. 

27*W.    pp.    563-5 

27r'Ibn    Qotaiba,    op.    cit..    Sect.     12 

276C.  Brockelmann,  Gesch.  der  Arabischcn  Littera- 
tur    (Weimar,    1898)    I,    16 

277Burton,    Pilg.    to    Al-Madinah,    etc.,    I,    278,    n.    3 

27SRichter,    op.    cit.,    p.    558 

27BEven  the  greatest  Arabic  poems'  consist  of  dis- 
connected couplets,  each  a  complete  poem  in  itself 
and  having  no  connection  with  the  other  lines;  it 
was  even  thought  bad  taste  to  deviate  from  this 
rule,  according  to  Brockelmann,  Gesh.  der  arab.  Lit. 
(Leipzig,     1909),     p.     12 

2S0Burton,    op.    cit.    II,    298 

2S1".  .  .  from  the  plain  this  gorge  is  hardly 
suspected.  ..."  Woolley  &  Lawrence,  Wilderness 
of  Xin,  p.  137,  speaking  of  a  particularly  impressive 
valley. 

2S2See   above,    note 

2S3Thus  Zohair,  in  Mu'alliqat  III,  13:  "And  when 
they  went  down  to  the  water,  blue  and  still  in  its 
depression,  they  laid  down  their  walking-sticks  like 
one   who   has   reached    a   permanent   resting-place." 


588 


"Modern  Missionary  Campaign" 

(Continued  from  page  560) 

keen  competition  was  apparent  and 
where  honors  had  to  be  won  by 
intelligent  effort: 

Second  Place  in  Percent  of  Quota 
Second  Place  in  Total  Subscriptions 
Three  wards  in  the  Hall  of  Fame 

One  of  the  Era's  most  loyal  sup- 
porters, Phoenix  must  be  reckoned 
with  in  every  campaign  by  those 
who  aspire  to  high  honors. 

Los  Angeles  Stake  Ranks  with 
Top  Leaders 

Los  Angeles  Stake  made  a 
strong  bid  for  leadership  honors 
and    finished    in    two    positions    of 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


distinction.  With  just  under  a  thou- 
sand total  subscriptions  and  well  to- 
ward 300%  of  quota,  Los  Angeles 
Stake  placed  number  three  in  both 
categories  to  earn  a  double  citation 
which  was  awarded  at  June  con- 
ference when  outstanding  leaders 
of  the  Church  were  honored. 


Lethbridge    is    Double-Citation 

Stake — Leads    in    Lamanite 

Subscriptions 

Leading   in  one  or  both   listings 
during  a  great  part  of  the  campaign 
and  making  a  new  record  for  Cana- 
dian     stakes,      Lethbridge      Stake 
(Continued  on  following  page) 


I 

§ 

t 


f 


Revised 


^4   ^Jime   for 

.EMEMBERJNG   § 

BY  RICHARD  L   EVANS 

T  ooking  forward  from  our  youth  and  looking  back  after 
youth  has  passed  present  two  very  different  perspec- 
tives. As  parents  we  see  the  future  in  our  children.  But 
as  children  we  see  the  present  and  the  future  in  ourselves. 
When  we  are  young,  our  parents  may  look  very  old  to 
us.  But  even  when  we  feel  that  we  are  quite  grown  up, 
we  may  still  look  very  young  to  them.  We  change  so 
gradually  that  we  may  not  know  when  it  is  that  we  become 
old  in  the  eyes  of  others.  The  generations  come  and  go, 
with  children  becoming  parents,  parents  becoming  grand- 
parents, and  youth  growing  up  to  take  their  places,  while 
others  move  on,  as  life  endlessly  unfolds.  There  are 
times  when  we  would  stay  the  step  of  time.  There  are 
days  we  wish  would  linger  longer.  But  time  will  not  be 
stayed.  There  are  times,  with  our  children  around  us, 
when  we  would  like  to  keep  them  as  they  are — safe  from 
life — safe  from  all  untoward  influences.  There  are  times 
when  we  have  our  loved  ones  with  us,  and  we  may  hope 
that  it  will  always  be  so.  But  in  this  life,  here  and  now, 
it  isn't  always  so.  And  there  come  those  times  when 
our  hearts  cry  out  for  a  turning  back  of  the  hours  and  of 
the  years,  as  the  poet  pleaded: 

"Backward,  turn  backward,  O  Time,  in  your  flight, 
Make  me  a  child  again  just  for  tonight! 

Mother,   come  back   from   the  echoless  shore, 
Take  me  again  to  your  heart,  as  of  yore; 

Kiss  from  my  forehead  the  furrows  of  care, 

Smooth  the  few  silver  threads  out  of  my  hair;  .  .  ." 

— Elizabeth  Akers  Allen 

"Backward,  turn  backward,  O  Time,  in  your  flight" —  But 
time  does  not  turn  back.  It  moves  its  measured  course. 
And  the  days  we  wish  would  linger  longer  move  on  at  the 
same  measured  pace  as  the  days  we  are  glad  to  see  go. 
And  since  time  will  not  turn  back — and  since  it  will  not 
wait,  let  there  be  this  day — and  on  all  other  days — a  re- 
newal of  thoughtfulness  from  the  young  to  the  old,  and 
from  the  old  to  the  young,  for  there  is  no  time  of  life,  in 
youth  or  in  age,  when  we  may  not  be  lonely;  there  is  no 
time  when  we  are  not  hurt  by  thoughtlessness  or  neglect. 
All  of  us,  young  and  old  alike,  have  need  to  be  loved  and 
understood,  to  be  cherished  and  remembered. 

Uke    Spoken      lA/ord         from  temple  SQUARE 
PRESENTED    OVER   KSL   AND    THE   COLUMBIA   BROAD- 
CASTING SYSTEM,   MAY   14,    1950 

Copyright     1950 


•-; 


JULY  1950 


Your  Church  University 

This  Month  Begins  the 
Observance  of  its 

DIAMOND  JUBILEE 
YEAR 

Founded  Oct.  16,  1875,  by  a 
deed  of  trust  executed  by  Pres. 
Brigham  Young,  it  has  grown 
under  the  sponsorship  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day  Saints  to  a  respected  position 
among  American  educational  insti- 
tutions. 

AUTUMN    QUARTER    REGISTRATION 
WILL   BE   HELD   SEPTEMBER   25,   26 

Make  your  application  for  admission 
at   least   a    month    before   that   time 

WRITE    FOR   YOUR   CATALOGUE   TO 
"Y"   PRESS 


dSriakam     [/loui 


% 


U 


lit 


nwerMu 

PROVO,   UTAH 


WE    OFFER  ... 

A  COMPLETE 
ENGRAVING  SERVICE 

From    Missionary    Portraits    to    the    Largest 
Catalogues. 

Mail   Orders    Given    Prompt   Attention 

UTAH  ENGRAVING  CO. 


113  Regent  St. 


Salt   Lake   City,    Utah 


DRINK 


A  delightful 

hot  beverage  for  those 

who  don't  drink  coffee. 


AT        YOUR         GROCERS 


589 


CLAIM  YOUR 

HAIR-ITAGE 


. . .  of  a 
handsome, 
healthy  head 
of  hair  .  . . 


•  •  •  • 


From  childhood 
up,  glossy,  clean-looking, well- 
groomed    hair  is  a  real  asset. 

L.B.  will  add  needed  natural  oils, 
give  "life"  and  luster,  train  unruly 
adolescent  hair,  help  control  dan- 
druff. 

FOR  THE   WHOLE  FAMILY 


un 


FOR 
THE  HAIR 


NEW  L.B. 
CREAMED 
SHAMPOO 

IF    YOUR   HAIR         Powdered 

NEEDS   HEIP... IT  NEEDS  I.B. 


-:  ■: i  ■ :  -:  ■ ;  S  ':■  f  Si  >!  ;■:■  ::r-'  ■: ■■-. ■  :| ::  >: :"  j:  J  ■. '-.  '■:  ^?Xi&Zlt: 


L      r^^ilP^^l 


The  Improvement  Era 
12  Issues     —     $2.50 


"MODERN  MISSIONARY  CAMPAIGN" 


(Continued  from  page  589) 
won  the  distinction  of  earning  two 
citations  and  leading  the  Church 
in  Lamanite  subscriptions.  During 
the  early  part  of  the  year  Leth- 
bridge  met  a  serious  obstacle  be- 
cause of  an  adjustment  in  inter- 
national exchange,  but  with  a 
spirit  that  united  the  entire  stake, 
this  and  other  obstacles  were 
brushed  aside  and  an  all-time  rec- 
ord for  Canadian  stakes  was  set. 
Records  in  the  Eva  office  indi- 
cate that  seventy-five  Lamanite 
families  now  receive  the  Era  each 
month  as  a  result  of  an  energetic 
and  highly  successful  effort  of  Leth- 
bridge  stake,  following  the  sugges- 
tion of  President  George  Albert 
Smith.  If  that  record  could  be 
matched  in  all  stakes  and  missions, 
one  of  the  biggest  missionary  move- 
ments in  Church  history  would  be 
under  way.  It  is  a  goal  for  all  to 
work  toward. 


Snowflake  Makes  Great  Record 

Following  closely  upon  its  bril- 
liant record  of  last  year  when  it 
was  awarded  the  Leader  of  Leaders 
citation,  Young  Stake  earned  high 
honors  again  this  year. 

Included  in  the  double  citation 
list  with  fifth  place  in  percent  of 
quota  and  seventh  in  total  sub- 
scriptions, Snowflake  is  not  to  be 
denied  the  recognition  it  has  won 
and  held  for  many  years.  Its 
honors  place  it  well  up  with  the 
leaders  of  the  Church,  with  five 
wards  again  in  the  Hall  of  Fame. 

South  Idaho  Falls  Due  Full 
Recognition 

Inaugurating  new  methods  and 
carrying  the  true  missionary  spirit 
through  the  entire  campaign,  South 
Idaho  Falls  deserves  rank  among 
the  outstanding  Era  stakes  of  the 
Church.  Sixth  in  percent  of  quota 
and    ninth    in    total    subscriptions 


>£  ^ 


■  VVAROKU  TO 


"JHooern  jtltggtonarp  Campaign" 
exceptional  Honor  gtefntbementg 


Ait-Tiro? 


,\!S-  !  l 

A!!-T: 


-vT 


'S-^^^^^^^^^xs^f^^T. 


ii 


M*M«i?-      *Yt*.feT..'..      V.W*      KUm^      tktfw      Mas: 
S'tfl.ve     ft**.«s.(i^    T-     ftf*tf*.     Xiipfcrtitt^     bI-Sbf, 

ViMdB    flltiri.    l.V.,.^;;.?'(-:/.iin    l)'Vc(,-f;     Sft'a«     'IV.'.-: 


I  '■S.J       *'/^.<ky>i       K-wS     AifliiaiSfl     ttiW-ri.: 

M,.S.,lrflj>l      JJ4.ICS,-*;      KW;      {*•.-!>/■     Wfl,f,      t*pfc*l/*SH.   »*     . 

,-flW    Mifctr.     fiori.fc    V4^*r9-($>P»    »/*'«*, 


590 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


wins  for  South  Idaho  Falls  one  of 
the  first  of  the  beautiful  new  Perma- 
Plaque  citations. 

Rigby  Stake  Wins   Double 
Honors 

To  Rigby  Stake  went  double 
honors  in  the  modern  missionary 
campaign.  Holding  eighth  place 
in  percent  of  quota  and  tenth  place 
in  total  subscriptions,  the  Rigby 
Stake  citation  included  indication 
of  the  double  achievement  during 
the  past  year. 

Double  Citation  Winners 
Missions  and  stakes  winning  double 
citations  were: 

Missions 

Southern  States  Mission — First  in 
Total  Subscriptions;  First  in  Percent 
of  Quota. 

North  Central  States  Mission — 
Second  in  Total  Subscriptions;  Second 
in  Percent  of  Quota. 

Stakes 

South    Los    Angeles    Stake —    First 


in  Total  Subscriptions;  First  in  Percent 
of  Quota. 

Phoenix  Stake — Second  in  Percent 
of  Quota;  Second  in  Total  Subscrip- 
tions. 

Los  Angeles  Stake — Third  in  Per- 
cent of  Quota;  Third  in  Total  Sub- 
scriptions. 

Lethbridge  Stake- — Fourth  in  Per- 
cent of  Quota;  Sixth  in  Total  Subscrip- 
tions. 

Snowflake  Stake — Fifth  in  Percent 
of  Quota;  Seventh  in  Total  Subscrip- 
tions. 

South  Idaho  Falls  Stake — Sixth  in 
Percent  of  Quota;  Ninth  in  Total  Sub- 
scriptions. 

Rigby  Stake— Eighth  in  Percent  of 
Quota;  Tenth  in  Total  Subscriptions. 

Citations  awarded  to  this  group  in- 
cluded both  positions  earned  in  the 
modern    missionary    campaign. 

Other  High-Honor  Stakes 

Stakes  which  rated  high  honors 
in  the  campaign  for  outstand- 
ing achievement  include:  MT. 
OGDEN,  with  a  campaign  that  has 
gone  into  the  records  as  a  model 
(Continued  on  following  page) 


r^*^,fy3f~,0z 


€xtra»<&rtrinarp 

«     AWARDED  TO 

£s>out!}  Hos  Angeles  ^takt 


l' i>i    7  rtrfy    littnurh 


"0lQtotttt  ffli$$iamvp  Campaip" 

1949-1950 

exceptional  Ijouor  gkiiiebemenfs: 


Mai!  (>!  1  ami 


iid  Honors  ic 


TV  Ward  m  South  Los  Ai 


</   Vffi-'r'fyj 


AJ.-i.l 


ret  On* 


tffv*u-&r  etc  {A^f^M^fH^yi 

i      :     .-.     i-jA:, ,::'■/>.:  ■      ■ 

i'jj     /?      >/        \    f?      J 


-* 


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v    -..-  ■  .-,  i.^.^-J,»Wli.dtfc  .,;■    :  -V 


JULY  1950 


591 


BRING  THE  WESrS 

SERVICE 
TO  YOUR 

HOME  TOWN 


The  KOLOB  Agent  in  your  community  is  the 
friendliest  man  in  town — ready  to  serve  your 
every  insurance  need  efficiently  and  at  low 
cost,  because  he  represents  the  Lntermountain 
West's  largest  General  Insurance  Agency. 
Strong  stock  Company  policies — prompt  fair 
settlement  of  claims. 


FRANK  SALISBURY,  Mgr. 
330  Judge  Bldg.  Salt  Lake  City 


it's  as  simple 
as  this 


with  Better  caps  &  lids 


1.  Quality  Steel — Resilient  heavy 
gauge,  no  weakening  embossing  or 
bulging. 

2.  Extra  coating — Third  coat  food 

acid  resistant  enamel  on  gold   lac- 
quer, on  tin. 

3.  Latex  rings  —  Built-in  live  latex 
rings  cushion  against  jar  rims  for 
high  vacuums. 

4.  Easier  "off"  tOO  —  Exclusive 
thread  design  provides  easy  "on 
andofl." 

5.  Even   Special   Packing  —  No 

prying  to  separate.  Packed  back  to 
back.   Slide  out  ready  to  use. 


At 
Most 
Good 

Stores 


*%<**<  pet  a£t 5  oh£%  evitd 

BerNARdin 

CAPS  &  LIDS 


"Modern  Missionary  Campaign" 

( Continued  from  preceding  page ) 

for  stakes  similarly  situated;  EMI- 
GRATION, the  one  stake  in  the 
Salt  Lake  City  area  to  qualify  for 
a  citation;  MINIDOKA,  a  peren- 
nial citation  winner  and  a  most 
constant  Era  supporter;  OGDEN, 
long  a  leader  in  Eta  Campaigns 
and  many  times  a  citation  win- 
ner; FLORIDA,  first  stake  in 
the  Church  to  reach  500%  of  quota 
in  its  first  year  as  a  stake; 
CHICAGO,  far  from  becoming  a 
stranger  to  Eta  citations. 

North   Central   States  Mission 
Scores  in   Both    Groups 

North  Central  States  Mission, 
spurred  on  by  its  record-breaking 
West  Minnesota  District,  made  a 
great  record  that  reflects  excellent 
leadership  and  the  true  missionary 
spirit.  Finishing  second  only  to 
the  unbelievable  performance  of 
Southern  States  Mission,  North 
Central  States  led  all  other  mis- 
sions by  wide  margins. 

Other  Mission  Leaders  Gain 
High   Positions 

Missions  with  outstanding  rec- 
ords, although  not  in  the  double 
citation  lists  but  which  have  earned 
a  place  are:  NORTHWESTERN 
STATES  MISSION,  with  more 
than  a  thousand  subscriptions  and 
third  place  in  the  mission  listings 
for  total  subscriptions;  WEST- 
ERN CANADIAN  MISSION, 
third  in  percent  of  quota;  GREAT 
LAKES,  a  citation  winner  in  its 
first  year  as  a  mission;  CENTRAL 
ATLANTIC  STATES  MISSION, 
a  special  citation  winner;  and 
CENTRAL  PACIFIC  MISSION, 
also  a  special  winner  by  reason  of 
the  double  citation  rule. 

Highlights  of  the  Campaign 

In  thirty-one  stakes  husbands 
and  wives  served  as  stake  Eta  di- 
rectors. In  a  large  number  of 
wards  this  same  combination  was 
also  used  effectively.  Heading  the 
list  of  "family"  directors  were  the 
Llewellyns  of  Lethbridge  Stake 
They  won  double  honors  in  cita- 
tions and  headed  the  list  in  Lama- 
nite  subscriptions. 

Exactly  the  same  number  of 
stakes  and  missions  earned  places 
on  The  Improvement  Eta  Scroll 
of  Honor  by  reaching  their  quali- 
fying    quotas     as     were     recorded 


-M  -^alley's; 


And  It's  FLAVOR-SIMMERED 
The  Home -Made  Way! 

See  .  .  .  smell .  . .  taste  the  difference  in 
Nalley's  Beef  Stew!  Packed  with  big 
chunks  of  choice  lean  beef,  loaded 
with  garden-fresh  vegetables,  smoth- 
ered in  delicious  chef-blended  gravy! 
Tastes  homemade  .  .  ,  yet  ready  to 
serve  in  seconds!  Ask  you  grocer 
today! 


NALLEY'S  BEEF  STEW 


ALL-O-WHEAT 

CEREAL 

The    Best    and    Most    Healthful 
Cereal   for  Your  Family  to  Eat! 


ALL-O-WHEAT 

contains  these  valu- 
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in  their  natural  state: 
Calcium,  Iron,  Phos- 
phorus, Thiamine,  Ri- 
boflavin, Niacin,  Vita- 
min A,  and  Panto- 
thenic   Acid. 

IT'S    STEEL    CUT 

STEEL  CUT-NOT   GROUND 

to  retain  all  the  natural  goodness  and 
nutrition  of  high-quality  wheat.  Cut 
to  a  fineness  for  quick  cooking — an  aid 
in  avoiding  loss  of  important  food 
values. 

ALL-O-WHEAT  IS 

•  DELICIOUS   to   the   Taste 

•  NUTRITIOUS   to   the   Body 

•  EASY  TO   PREPARE 

•  VERY   ECONOMICAL   to    use 

Ask    your    grocer    or    local    health    store 
today  for 

ALL-O-WHEAT 

Or  Write  to  ALL-O-WHEAT   CO. 

Ogden,   Utah 

Alt-O-Wheat  now  available  in 
Pacific  Coast  health  stores 


592 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


last  year.  By  qualifying  in  this 
manner  these  units  were  eligible 
for  the  cash  awards  and  the  higher 
honors  reserved  for  outstanding 
leaders. 

A  new  feature  of  the  citation 
award  plan  is  to  have  stake  super- 
intendents of  Y.M.M.I.A.  and 
presidents  of  Y. W.M.I. A.  join  with 
stake  Era  directors  in  receiving  the 
citations  at  June  Conference. 

New  interest  was  added  to  the 
campaign   by   the    inauguration    of 


the  plan  to  send  the  Era  to  Lama- 
nites.  A  sizable  number  of  wards 
and  stakes  particularly  made  the 
Lamanite  gift  subscription  plan  a 
feature  of  the  closing  days  of  the 
campaign. 

The  magnificent  record  of  the 
modern  missionary  campaign  is 
a  tribute  to  thousands  of  Era  work- 
ers throughout  the  Church  who 
have  devoted  themselves  without 
stint  to  this  modern  missionary 
cause. 


§ 
§ 

§ 

§.:. 

§ 

§ 

§ 
§ 

§ 
f 
§ 

§ 

JULY  1950 


^y~f    C^ani 


i 


L^novta 


k- 


BY  RICHARD  L  EVANb 


'T'he  past  is  sometimes  said  to  repeat  itself — not  in  detail, 
perhaps,  but  in  principle  and  in  broad  patterns.  And 
by  the  pattern  of  the  past,  acute  observers  and  thoughtful 
philosophers  have  often  played  their  part  in  predicting 
what  might  be  expected  if  certain  practices  are  persistently 
pursued.  In  addition,  there  are  also  the  predictions  of 
the  prophets,  which  are  frequently  referred  to  for  the 
lessons  that  they  leave  us.  From  Daniel,  in  Babylon,  for 
example,  we  read  of  "the  handwriting  on  the  wall"  which 
has  since  become  a  symbol  for  foreseeing  unfortunate 
events.  But  there  is  this  comforting  consideration:  Pre- 
dictions are  often  dependent  upon  the  continuance  or  dis- 
continuance of  some  particular  course  of  conduct.  In 
other  words  they  often  say:  If  you  do  this,  this  will  hap- 
pen; or  if  you  don't  do  this,  this  will  not  happen.  It  is 
somewhat  as  the  parent  pronouncing  punishment  upon  the 
child  if  he  persists  in  his  wayward  ways,  or  promising 
reward  if  he  does  what  he  should  do.  It  would  seldom  seem 
that  calamitous  consequences  come  without  warning — 
without  the  handwriting  on  the  wall  for  all  to  see  who  will 
see.  And  surely  we  must  assume  that  unfavorable  pre- 
dictions may  be  altered  if  people  are  repentant.  One  con- 
vincing case  is  that  of  Nineveh,  the  ancient  city  to  which 
Jonah  was  sent.  When  Jonah  reluctantly  got  around  to 
doing  his  duty,  he  predicted  Nineveh's  destruction  in 
forty  days.  But  the  encouraging  part  of  this  picture  is 
that  Nineveh  repented.  From  the  king  to  the  lowliest  of 
his  subjects  the  people  were  repentant,  and  the  city  was 
saved.  It  is  encouraging  to  know  that  men  and  nations 
and  peoples  can  escape  threatened  consequences  if  early 
enough  they  are  willing  to  change  an  unwise  course  of 
conduct,  if  early  enough  they  are  willing  to  depart  from 
prodigality,  if  early  enough  they  return  to  sound  princi- 
ples and  practices.  Perhaps  we  all  have  need  of  repent- 
ance, and  if,  erring  as  we  all  are,  there  were  no  way  to 
turn,  if  there  were  no  possibility  of  repentance,  the  picture 
might  be  much  more  darkly  discouraging.  But  it  is  most 
encouraging  that  repentance  is  possible — if  early  enough 
people  are  willing  to  change  their  course  of  conduct. 

Jke    J^pohen      Word         FROM  TEMPLE  SQUARE 
PRESENTED    OVER   KSL    AND    THE   COLUMBIA    BROAD- 
CASTING  SYSTEM,   MAY   21,    1950 


I. 

§ 

§ 
■s 

§ 


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Set  consists  of  2  pieces,  a  bread 
and  water  tray,  in  beautiful  appear- 
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White).  Note  the  large  sturdy  handles 
(all  handles  are  Crystal)  that  auto- 
matically lock  in  place.  Handles  fold 
down,  out  of  the  way,  when  not  in 
use;  requiring  only  1/3  the  space  of 
old   type  sets. 

Water  trays  feature  a  special  rim 
around  each  individual  cup  opening 
as  well  as  around  outer  edge  of  tray. 
This  practically  eliminates  inconven- 
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special   patented   feature. 

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33*    SOUTH    MAIN 


593 


EIGHT  WITH  A  GRIZZLY 


PROTECTION 

j4i 


ALUMINUM  COMBINATION  DOORS 

Alumatic  aluminum  doors  are  a 
permanent  improvement!  Screen 
or  storm  panels  quickly  slip  into 
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—  pAT  PENO. 


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^^'  *»iJ  Hi' _V'i  ai**^^ 

For  Complete  Information 
CALL  or  WRITE 

INSULATIONS  INC. 

1349  South  Main  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Phone  8-051 1 


IIV  USE  for  OVER  FIFTY  YEARS 

Aids  in  treatment  of  Canker,  simple 
sore  throat  and  other  minor  mouth 
and  throat  irritations. 

HALLS  REMEDY 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

594 


(Concluded  from  page  561 ) 
times  with  his  sharp  claws,  tearing 
it  badly.  With  his  back  downhill 
and  that  fierce  beast  upon  him, 
Father  was  ready  to  give  up.  Just 
then  it  seemed  that  an  unseen  power 
raised  him  up  and  gave  him 
strength.  As  he  righted  himself, 
he  caught  the  eyes  of  the  bear  in 
a  close  stare. 

Father  was  a  large  man,  about 
six  feet  three,  and  the  bear  was  so 
tall  that  his  paws  rested  straight 
on  Father's  shoulders,  and  they 
were  now  in  this  position.  The 
face  of  the  bear  was  so  near 
Father's  face  he  could  feel  every 
breath.  At  the  first  stare  the  bear 
stood  still.  Then  as  Father  con- 
tinued to  stare,  the  bear  dropped 
down  on  all  fours  and  started 
slowly  away. 

Father  stood  and  stared  at  the 
bear,  which  went  a  little  way, 
stopped  and  looked  back,  then 
walked  on.  Father  dropped  down 
exhausted  but  kept  watching  the 
bear  until  it  was  out  of  sight.  Then, 
taking  his  red  bandana  from  his 
pocket,  he  wrapped  his  hand,  which 
was  bleeding  profusely,  and  picked 
up  the  remains  of  his  gun,  which 
had  the  stock  and  the  sights  broken 
off,  the  hammer  bent,  with  marks 
of  the  bear's  teeth  all  over  the  bar- 
rel. He  also  picked  up  a  claw 
which  had  been  torn  from  the 
bear's  foot;  this  measured  three 
inches  long.  With  these  he  started 
down  the  mountainside.  Twice,  be- 
fore reaching  the  house,  he  was 
overcome  with  exhaustion  from  loss 
of  blood  and  his  trying  experience 
and  lay  down  thinking  he  would 
die  there.  After  a  little  rest,  how- 
ever, he  went  on  again.  Darkness 
came  when  he  was  only  halfway 
down  the  mountain.  The  cold  night 
air  and  his  wet  clothes  made  him 
so  stiff  and  uncomfortable  that  he 
decided  to  make  a  fire  and  try  to 
warm  himself  a  little  before  starting 
for  home,  but  the  wood  was  wet 
and  his  hand  was  so  badly  torn 
that  it  was  hopeless.  So,  wearily  he 
dragged  himself  into  the  saddle  and 
gave  the  horse  the  rein.  It  took  the 
trail  homeward  without  being  urged 
or  guided,  for  Father  was  practical- 
ly unable  to  do  anything  more  than 
balance  himself  in  the  saddle. 

The  family  had  become  worried 
and  had  sent  Frank  on  a  horse  to 


find  him.  Frank  met  Father  about 
ten  minutes  from  the  house.  When 
he  came  near  him,  he  called,  "Is 
that  you,  Pa?" 

He  answered,  "Yes,  my  boy,  why 
didn't  you  come  two  hours  sooner?" 
These  were  the  last  words  he  spoke 
for  some  time. 

When  Father  did  not  come  in, 
Mother  opened  the  door  and  saw 
Frank  half  carrying  Father,  whose 
face  was  deathly  white,  his  clothes 
torn,  blood-stained,  and  frozen  to 
him.  We  helped  him  into  the  house 
and  seated  him  in  a  big  chair  be- 
fore the  open  fire.  The  handker- 
chief wrapped  around  his  wounded 
hand  was  frozen  stiff,  but  it  had 
stopped  the  bleeding  and  perhaps 
saved  his  life. 

He  was  suffering  from  shock,  ex- 
haustion, hunger,  and  cold,  and  he 
was  unable  to  speak.  It  was  perhaps 
an  hour  before  he  could  stand  to 
have  any  of  his  wet  and  bloody 
clothes  removed. 

Mother  helped  him  drink  some 
hot  soup  which  revived  him  a  bit. 
Then  Mother  asked,  "What  hurt 
you?"  He  only  said,  "A  bear." 
Mother  dressed  his  hand  with  clean 
bandages  and  finally  got  him  to  bed. 
Days  passed,  still  Father  did  not 
say  a  word  of  what  happened,  and 
his  eyes  had  the  dazed,  faraway 
look  of  shock.  Five  of  six  days 
passed  before  he  told  us  what  had 
happened.  Father  didn't  tell  this 
story  often  and  then  only  to  those 
he  chose. 

The  following  spring  a  cowboy 
found  the  remains  of  the  largest 
bear  he  had  ever  seen,  and  as 
several  front  teeth  were  broken  off 
and  a  claw  missing  from  one  of  its 
front  toes,  we  were  sure  that  it  was 
the  one  Father  had  fought. 


No-Liquor-Tobacco  Column 

{Continued  from  page  569) 

or  carton,  the  state  monopoly  method 
— would  reduce  the  amount  of  liquor 
consumed.  To  some  people,  such  a 
claim  seems  apparent;  but  it  is  not 
true.  The  figures  named  above  are 
those  given  by  the  "Distilled  Spirits 
Institute,  Inc."  Washington,  D.  C,  a 
concern  that  deals  in  facts,  not  guesses. 
But  another  frequently-used  argu- 
ment for  the  license  system  ("sale  by 
the  drink")  is  that  drinkers  "will  have 
their  liquor,"  hence  why  not  make  it 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


M 


Enjoy  All  This,  And 
iiiiMil   Food,  Tiiii! 


Yes  sir,  when  you  visit  Salt  Lake 
City  you  want  to  be  comfort- 
able, you  want  pleasant  sur- 
roundings and  you  want  a  con- 
venient location.  Hotel  Temple 
Square  gives  you  all  this, 
PLUS— delicious  food  in  the  Cof- 
fee Shop  that  is  the  city's  favor- 
ite for  family  dining. 


Hotel 
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Clarence  L.  West,  Mgr. 


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To  the  Centennial  Celebration 

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ing tours  by  limousine  including  all-day 
100-mile  Circle  Island  Tour  with  visit  to 
Mormon  Temple  at  Laie;  Pearl  Harbor  or 
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back  to  airport  and  luxurious  overnight 
sky  ride  home. 

Tour   Department 

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8717   Compton   Avenue 

Los  Angeles  2,   California 


Ask  About  Our 

TOUR  TIME  PLAN 


convenient  of  access  at  town  or  city 
licensed  stores.  The  municipality 
would  then  get  the  license  money, 
thus  reducing  the  amount  necessary  to 
raise  by  taxes.  To  unthinking  people, 
this  argument  -appeals — anything  to 
keep  taxes  down.  But  what  are  the 
facts?  The  April  17  issue  of  The 
Clipsheet,  a  high-grade  publication  of 
the  Board  of  Temperance  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  gives  an  indisput- 
able answer  from  Pontiac,  Michigan, 
which  is  as  follows: 

A  survey  shows  alcoholism  cost  Pontiac 
$246,000  in  1949;  218  places  licensed  to 
sell  alcoholic  liquor  in  Pontiac  brought  to 
the  city  $17,573.75  in  license  fees — a  net 
loss  to  the  city  of  $229,301.25. 

The  Pontiac  Daily  Press,  February  9, 
1950,  said,  "What  price  does  Pontiac  pay 
for  alcoholism?"  It  might  have  said  what 
price  does  Pontiac  pay  for  allowing  the 
sale  of  alcoholic  liquor.  The  Pontiac 
survey  is  the  most  thorough  so  far  made 
in  Michigan.  Below  is  the  Pontiac  Daily 
Press   article. 

"What  price  does  Pontiac  pay  for  al- 
coholism? 

"This  is  one  of  the  questions  raised  by 
the  campaign  to  improve  Skid  Row  condi- 
tions in  the  downtown  shopping  area.  It 
has  a  bearing  on  the  logical  sequel  to  that 
campaign,  which  is  a  serious  community 
attempt  to  meet  the  challenge  of  chronic 
alcoholism  by  setting  up  an  alcoholic  in- 
formation center  and  clinic  in  Pontiac. 

"That  attempt  has  been  proposed. 

"To  secure  information  on  which  to 
base  a  decision  as  to  the  seriousness  of 
the  need,  R.  H.  Boyer,  11  Waldo  Street, 
made  the  following  survey,  using  municipal 
court  records,  municipal  and  state  criminal 
court  dockets,  city  and  county  auditors' 
and  welfare  records,  and  chamber  of  com- 
merce." 

The  details  of  costs  are  given  under 
seven  headings  as  follows :  ( 1 )  Ar- 
rests, commitments,  losses,  totaling 
$52,848;  (2)  Judiciary,  police,  jail 
costs,  totaling  $22,965;  (3)  Welfare 
expenditures  totaling  $60,660;  (4)  In- 
dustrial loss  totaling  $110,208;  (5) 
Total  community  and  economic  loss, 
$246,875. 

What  alcoholic  liquor  is  costing 
Pontiac,  in  proportion,  is  about  what  it  is 
costing  your  city  and  community.  How 
long  can  Pontiac  or  any  other  community 
in  Michigan  continue  to  allow  the  liquor 
traffic  to  place  such  a  burden  on  our  peo- 
ple? What  does  this  survey  do  to  the 
revenue  argument  so  often  made  by  the 
liquor  traffic? 

Pontiac  received  in  license  fees 
$17,573.75  and  paid  out  to  take  care  of 
the  alcoholic  burden  $246,875.00. 

In  the  light  of  these  figures,  how  can 
it  be  said  that  any  city  or  town  would 
profit  by  licensing  or  permitting  "sale 
by  the  drink"? 


TWO  ROOFS 
IN  ONE! 


PABCO 


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YOU  TIME 
WORK  and 
MONEY/ 


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Jam  (Jelly 
PECTIN 


MORE  FOR  YOUR  MONEY 


JULY  1950 


TRAVEL 


WE   HAVE   THE 

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EVIDENCES  AND  RECONCILIATIONS 


(Continued  from  page  547) 
where  the  Quirigua  ruins  now 
stands,  was  in  "this  land."  This 
seems  to  place  many  Book  of  Mor- 
mon activities  in  that  region.  The 
interesting  fact  in  this  connection 
is  that  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  at 
this  time  was  editor  of  the  Times 
and  Seasons,  and  had  announced 
his  full  editorial  responsibility  for 
the  paper.8  1  his  seems  to  give  the 
subjoined    article    an    authority    it 

8Times  and  Seasons  ( Nauvoo,  111.,  1839-1846): 
3:710.  See  also  History  of  the  Church  (March  2. 
1842)     4:524 


m 


ight  not  otherwise  possess.  The 
following  is  an  excerpt  from  the 
editorial. 

"Since  our  'Extract'  was  pub- 
lished from  Mr.  Stephens'  'Inci- 
dents of  Travel,'  8c,  we  have  found 
another  important  fact  relating  to 
the  truth  cf  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
Central  America,  or  Guatemala, 
is  situated  north  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien  and  once  embraced  several 
hundred  miles  of  territory  from 
north  to  south — The  city  of  Zara- 


§ 
§ 


§ 
§ 

§ 
§■ 


i'-<5>i 


DESTINATION 


BY  RICHARD  L  EVANS 

Ane  of  our  most  common  characteristics  is  that  we  sel- 
dom seem  to  have  arrived  at  precisely  where  we  think 
we  want  to  go.     It  is  a  restless  world.     And  the  chances 
are  that  even  those  who  have  what  we  think  they  would 
want,  don't  have  quite  what  they  think  they  want.  We  are 
pressed  into   pursuing  many  purposes,  but  it  almost  al- 
ways seems  that  we  are  occupied  with  the  pursuit  rather 
than  with  che  settled  enjoyment  of  what  we  have  already 
arrived  at.  Anticipation  almost  always  exceeds  realization. 
We  are  often  eager  to  go,  but  glad  to  be  back,  and  then 
soon  bored  with  being  back,  and  eager  to  go  again.     We 
are  often  impatient  with  the  present,  and  impatient  for  the 
future  to  unfold.     Of  course,  part  of  the  future  unfolds 
each  day,  but  we  are  impatient  for  yet  some  further  future. 
And  what  we  thought  would  satisfy  yesterday,  we  find 
on  acquisition,  does  not  so  fully  satisfy  today.     Like  an 
errant  knight,  we  cannot  be  content  with  the  conquests 
of  the  past,  but  are  ever  after  added  experience  and  ever 
reaching  for  what  is  just  a  bit  beyond.     There  may  be 
much  more  restlessness  in  life  than  should  be  so;  but  part 
of  it,  no  doubt,  is  as  was  intended,  .because  our  existence 
here  is  not  in  itself  an  end.     Life  is  a  journey  and  not  a 
destination — an  eternal  journey,  in  which  here  or  hereafter 
there  will  always  be  something  to  beckon  us  on.     There 
may  be  periods  of  brief  content.    There  may  be  periods  of 
precious  rest   and  of   pausing   between  pursuits.      But  it 
doesn't  seem  to  be  in  the  nature  of  things  for  us  to  be 
too  completely  content,  and  even  when  we  acquire  what 
we  think  would  make  us  so,  there  is  ever  within  us  the 
spirit  of  moving  on — for  immortal  man  must  always  have 
unconquered  conquests,  and  a  large  part  of  the  pleasure 
is  in  the  pursuing.     We  may  be  grateful  that  there  are 
always    unaccomplished    purposes,    here    and    hereafter. 
And  we  may  be  comforted  that  we  can  look  forward  to 
being  again  with  those  who  have  gone  before — for  life 
is  a  journey  and  not  a  destination.     Man  is  on  an  eternal 
march,  and  this  very  restlessness  is  added  evidence  that 
we  are  ever  on  our  way. 


~Jke 


§ 

§ 

§ 
h 
h 
h 
§ 


596 


Spoken      iVord  FROM   TEMPLE  SQUARE 

PRESENTED   OVER   KSL    AND    THE   COLUMBIA    BROAD- 
CASTING  SYSTEM,    MAY   28,    1950 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


§ 


hcmla,  burnt  at  the  crucifixion  of  the 
Savioi,  and  rebuilt  afterwards,  ^tood 
upon  thi«  land,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  words  in  the 
book  of  Alma: — 'And  now  it  was 
only  the  distance  of  a  day  and  a 
half's  journey  for  a  Nephite,  on  the 
line  Bountiful,  and  the  land  Desola- 
tion, from  the  east  to  the  west  sea; 
and  thus  the  land  of  Nephi,  and  the 
land  of  Zarahemla  was  nearly  sur- 
rounded by  water:  there  being  a 
small  neck  of  land  between  the  land 
northward  and  the  land  south- 
ward.' '  [See  Book  of  Mormon  3rd 
edition   280-81.] 

"It  is  certainly  a  good  thing  for 
the  excellency  and  veracity,  of  the 
divine  authenticity  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  that  the  ruins  of  Zara- 
hemla have  been  found  where  the 
Nephites  left  them:  and  that  a  large 
stone  with  engravings  upon  it,  as 
Mosiah  said:  and  a  'large  round 
stone,  with  the  sides  sculptured  in 
hieroglyphics,'  as  Mr.  Stephens  has 
published,  is  also  among  the  left 
remembrances  of  the,  (to  him,)  lost 
and  unknown.  We  are  not  going  to 
declare  positively  that  the  ruins  of 
Quirigua  are  those  of  Zarahemla, 
but  when  the  land  and  the  stones 
and  the  books  tell  the  story  so 
plain,  we  are  of  the  opinion,  that 
it  would  require  more  proof  than 
the  Jews  could  bring,  to  prove  the 
disciples  stole  the  body  of  Jesus 
from  the  tomb,  to  prove  that  the 
ruins  of  the  city  in  question,  are 
not  one  of  those  referred  to  in  the 
Book  of   Mormon."9 

They  who  work  on  the  geography 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  have  little 
else  than  the  preceding  approaches 
with  which  to  work,  viz:  that 
Nephites  found  their  way  into  what 
is  now  the  state  of  Illinois;  that 
the  plates  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
were  found  in  a  hill  in  northwestern 
New  York  State;  that  a  statement 
exists  of  doubtful  authenticity  that 
Lehi  and  his  party  landed  on  the 
shore  of  the  land  now  known  as 
Chile;  and  that  under  the  Prophet's 
editorship  Central  America  was 
denominated  the  region  of  Book  of 
Mormon  activities. 

Out  of  diligent,  prayerful  study, 
we  may  be  led  to  a  better  under- 
standing of  times  and  places  in  the 
history  of  the  people  who  move 
across  the  pages  of  the  divinely 
giver  Bock  of  Mormun. 

87imt.    and    Reasons    3:927    (No.    23,    October    1, 
1842);  Cumorah  Whete?  p.  6C 

JULY  I9b( 


POPULARITY! 


More  housewives  cook  electrically 
than  by  any  other  method,  in  the 
territory  we  serve. 


Why} 


Ask  anyone  who  uses  an  Electric 
Range. 

UTAH   POWER   &   LIGHT  CO. 


for  a 
Qracious  Ceremony 
Cemar 
WAFFLE  SET 

Be  winsome  with  waffles?  Yes, 
you  can}  gracefully  preparing 
them  at  table  in  this  deep-rose 
strawberry  set... a  large  batter 
bowl,  beating  pitcher,  sugar 
shaker  and  serving  tray.  Irre- 
sistibly charming. ..so,  so  smart! 


I  Cemar  atbetter*°!°$^ 

I  ...everywhere 


CEMAR  AVAILABLE  AT 


ZCMI 


Read 
The  Improvement  Era 
12  Issues      -      $2.50 


NO  DEVICE  OF  ANY  KIND 
IN  EITHER  EAR 

THE  HARD-OF-HEARING  MAN  shown  above  IS 
wearing  a  new  invention  by  Acousticon,  the 
first  and  oldest  manufacturer  of  electrical  hear- 
ing aids.  He  now  HEARS  AGAIN,  yet  there  is 
no  device  of  any  kind  in  his  ear!  Thanks  to  this 
new  invention  by  Acousticon,  thousands  of 
men  and  women  are  at  last  free  of  wearing  any 
kind  of  hearing  aid  in  their  ear  ,  ,  no  so-called 
"invisible"  or  "phantom"  earpiece  of  ANY 
kind,  no  headband,  no  pressure  anywhere! 
And,  most  amazing  of  all,  this  new  invention 
helps  him  to  HEAR  BETTER  THAN  EVER! 

GET  THE  WHOLE  STORY  FREE 
Whether  or  not  you  now  wear  a  hearing  aid, 
you  owe  it  to  yourself  to  discover,  without  cost 
or  obligation,  the  facts  about  this  new  inven- 
tion. Don't  neglect  your  deafness— but  don't 
advertise  it  either!  Fill  in  and  mail  the  coupon 
at  once  for  FREE  information.  ACOUSTICON, 
95-25  149  St.,  Jamaica      N.Y 

I     ACOUSTICON,  Dept.    M-34     *"  ""*  ***  *~  *""  '  ♦ 
|    95-25  149th  St.,  Jamaica       N.  Y 

|    Please  send  me  complete  illustrated  informa     I 

■    turnabout  your  marvelous  new  hearing  in-    L 

I    vention  that  requires  nothing  in  my  ear  and    I 

no  headband  » 

J    Name _ , ! 

j    Address | 

I  City State I 

597 


YEAR-ROUND  PROGRAM  OF  THE  M.I.A. 


<r  rift 


f  Portland  Pu  J 


Portland 
Punch 


3$   a  glass 


STOP  SMOKING  -Easily! 

Nico-Stop,  new  medical  discovery,  can  help  you 
stop  the  tobacco  habit.  Pleasant  tasting.  A 
few  drops  on  the  tongue  relieves  craving  AT 
ONCE  and  starts  clearing  the  system  of  ac- 
cumulated tobacco  poisons.  Recommended  by 
physicians,  but  sold  without  prescription. 

Priced  at  the  cost  of  only  a  few  weeks' 
smoking.  Money-back  guarantee.  If  not 
available    at    your    druggist's,    write    to 

NICO-STOP 

NICO-STOP,  BOX  193,  SAINT  HELENA,  CALIF. 
Please  send  further  information  about  Nico-Stop. 

Name    

Address     

City State 


^     HEADQUARTERS  FOR  L.  D.  S.     V 
A         IN  LAS  VEGAS,  NEVADA         k 

YE  KING'S  REST  MOTEL 

526  SOUTH  5th  STREET 

Dr.  Harold  B.  Foutz,  Owner 

Edgar  H.  Foutz,  Manager 

Beautyrest  Mattresses  Throughout 


SUN-VISTA 
Delicious 

BLACK-EYED  PEAS 

BUTTER  BEANS 

BABY  LIMA  BEANS 

PINTO  BEANS 

GREEN  CHILI  PEPPERS 

PINTO  BEANS  WITH  PORK 

At  Your  Grocers 


(Continued  from  page  551) 
Manasseh"  and  sung  by  sixty  se- 
lected singers,  directed  by  Brother 
Elvis  B.  Terry,  proved  to  be  one  of 
the  highlights  of  the  evening. 

Immediately  prior  to  the  Music 
Festival,  the  Speech  Festival  was 
held  in  the  Assembly  Hall.  Several 
hundred  people  were  turned  away 
because  of  inability  to  procure  seats. 
Those  who  were  able  to  attend  were 
treated  to  a  delightful  evening  of 
demonstrations  of  street  meetings, 
debate,  panel,  and  choral  readings. 
One  thing  which  delighted  the  audi- 
ence and  made  the  festival  most 
informal  was  the  drawing  of  names 
from  a  hat,  and  the  "lucky"  person 
whose  name  was  drawn  then  being 
called  to  make  an  extemporaneous 
speech. 

The  Girls'  Program,  now  under 
the  direction  of  the  Young  Wom- 
en's Mutual  was  discussed  in  a 
panel  of  Young  Women  stake 
presidents  and  the  general  presi- 
dency of  the  Y.W.M.I.A.  The 
point  was  made  by  the  leaders  that 
Y.W.M.I.A.  is  the  girls'  pro- 
gram of  the  Church;  that  leaders 
who  sense  their  responsibility  will 
know  each  girl  and  her  needs;  that 
inactive  girls  must  be  visited  and 
kept  track  of  by  teachers,  girls  in 
the  class,  executives,  and  bishops. 
Bishop  LeGrand  Richards  gave  a 
resume  of  the  Girls'  Program  to  date 
and  its  accomplishments  and  chal- 
lenged M.I. A.  officers  to  continue 
the  splendid  work  already  begun. 

Elder  Harold  B.  Lee  gave  a  chal- 
lenging talk  to  Junior  M  Men  and 
Junior  Gleaner  leaders  in  their  Sat- 
urday morning  session  held  at  the 
Institute  of  Religion.  He  intro- 
duced material  from  his  booklet, 
'  Your  Coat  of  Armor,"  copies  of 
which  were  given  to  all  present. 
This  pamphlet  will  play  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  Mutual  Improvement 
Association  during  the  coming  year. 
It  will  be  distributed  to  the  Junior 
M  Men  and  Junior  Gleaners  at  their 
special  January  meeting,  but  other 
departments  will  also  make  use  of 
its  timely  message. 

Superintendent  Elbert  R.  Curtis 
challenged  the  Junior  M  Men  and 
Junior  Gleaner  leaders  at  the  open- 
ing of  their  session  to  make  of  this 
new  department  a  vital  force  in 
young  people's  lives.  A  new  rally 
song  for  this  age  group,  written  by 


598 


Myriel  Cluff  Ashton,  was  enthusi- 
astically  received. 

The  afternoon  was  packed  full  of 
new  Junior  Gleaner  activities.  Intro- 
duced during  this  session  was  the 
new  Silver  Gleaner  Achievement 
Plan,  a  program  which  will  give 
growth  and  development  to  all 
sixteen-  seventeen-  and  eighteen- 
year-old  girls  in  the  Church  through 
participation  in  an  active  mental, 
physical,  and  spiritual  program,  so 
that  they  will  be  happy,  well-bal- 
anced girls.  Silver  indicates  the 
sterling  qualities  they  will  de- 
velop as  they  grow.  Silver  book- 
marks were  distributed  to  those 
present  and  will  help  them  to  re- 
member this  most  inspirational  ses- 
sion. Also  introduced  was  the  new 
Junior  Gleaner  song,  "Ruth  the 
Gleaner."  The  words,  taken  from 
the  scriptures,  were  set  to  music  by 
Luacine  Clark  Fox.  A  treasure 
chest  opened  before  the  interested 
eyes  of  the  large  group  attending 
added  interest  and  impetus  to  the 
Treasures  of  Truth  project. 

An  inspiring  dramatization  en- 
titled "Portals  to  Mia  Maid  Land" 
gave  in  visual  form  the  many  facets 
of  the  new  Mia  Maid  program  to 
the  leaders  attending  the  Saturday 
sessions  of  this  department.  A 
christening  ceremony  gave  the  name 
of  "Mia  Maid"  officially  to  this  de- 
partment. A  joint  session  with 
Explorer  leaders  followed  and  fea- 
tured a  panel  discussion  on  social 
conduct  under  the  leadership  of 
Elaine  A.  Cannon.  At  this  time  the 
new  Explorer-Mia  Maid  song  writ- 
ten by  Mark  Nichols  was  also  intro- 
duced. 

In  the  afternoon,  Dr.  Roald 
Campbell  of  the  University  of  Utah 
discussed  techniques  of  teaching 
and  understanding  the  fifteen-and 
sixteen-year-old  girl.  The  new 
"plus"  program  of  this  department, 
Mia  Joy  program,  was  also  intro- 
duced and  explained.  Another 
highlight  was  the  presentation  of 
the  new  Mia  Maid  pins.  The  deli- 
cate, enameled  rose  framed  in  gold 
was  enthusiastically  received. 

At  four  o'clock  Saturday  in  Bar- 
ratt  Hall  the  Indian  committee  met 
those  who  work  with  the  Indians  in 
the  various  stakes  in  order  to  ex- 
plain to  them  some  of  the  activities 
and  classwork  that  could  be  car- 
ried   forward    among    the    Indians 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


who  come  into  the  communities  for 
seasonal  work  as  well  as  for  those 
who  live  in  groups  by  themselves. 
One  of  the  outstanding  parts  of 
the  program  was  the  dance  presen- 
tation by  some  Indians. 

Saturday  sessions  of  the  Bee  Hive 
department  were  highlighted  by  the 
introduction  of  the  new  two-year 
program  for  the  twelve-  and  thir- 
teen-year-old girls  and  the  just- 
off-the-press  Bee  Keepers'  Hand- 
book, An  enormous  replica  of  the 
girls'  band  greeted  the  Bee  Keepers 
attending  at  Barratt  Hall.  During 
the  morning,  mammoth  size  awards 
were  added  to  the  band  as  new 
parts  of  the  program  were  ex- 
plained. The  inauguration  of  the 
Hive-building  Ceremony  was  an- 
other highlight  of  this  session.  Rung 
by  rung,  the  hive  was  built  and 
crowned  with  the  queen  bee  as  it 
will  be  in  many  wards  throughout 
the  Church  during  the  coming  years 
whenever  a  class  achieves  its  class 
award  under  the  Girls'  Program. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Bee  Keepers 
were  given  demonstrations  in  filling 
honor  badges.  Visual  aids  in  teach- 
ing were  also  presented.  In  addition, 
those  present  learned  such  fasci- 
nating arts  as  textile  painting,  cer- 
amics, clay  modeling,  weaving,  rug- 
making,  and  beading. 

The  conference  ended  on  a  beau- 
tiful and  dignified  note  Sunday 
evening  in  the  Young  People's  Con- 
ference. The  presentation  was 
written  around  the  M.I. A.  theme  for 
1950-51:  "Learn  wisdom  in  thy 
youth;  yea,  learn  in  thy  youth  to 
keep  the  commandments  of  God.*' 
(Alma  37:35.)  Each  person  attend- 
ing the  conference  was  presented 
with  a  copy  of  Elder  Harold  B. 
Lee's  "Your  Coat  of  Armor"  and 
a  calender,  on  one  side  of  which  was 
inscribed   the   theme. 


I 


I  SHALL  GO  BACK 

By  Pansye  H,  Powell 

shall  go  back  to  the  rolling  hills  and  the 
wind-blown  prairie  grass, 
To  place  upon  the  fertile  loam  the  imprint 

of  my  knee 
And  let   the  maples   spread   above   as   the 

silent  seasons  pass, 
Slowly   bestowing    years    to    fall    benignly 
over  me. 

I    shall   see    pastel   apple    blooms   starring 

the  tranquil  air 
And  drink  in  all  the  fragrance  after  gentle 

summer   rain. 
My  roots  are  in  the  heavy  soil,  and  I  shall 

leave  them  there — 
But  what  if  the  lofty  mountaintops  should 

call  to  me  again? 

JULY  1950 


modem,       | 


I     Formerly  priced  at  $2.00, 

=     NOW  reduced  to 

1    MAN  ANO  T«cORAOON.rr--»_ 

=      The  application  of  practical  g     k 

1      concise,  inspiring.  LEAH  D.  W1DTSOE        | 

I    BRIGHAM  YOUNG    TheMan^e^,^^  ,„,„,.,     { 

1  ft-a^snast"    t— 0W10ts0E  .    1 

i  SsJrtfffts^-^^.cSi-      1 

\ r : ^-^^^^I,. 

I  Special  Nofice-Price  Chanqe  ' 

J   JACOB  HAMBUN,  ^waiiye   J 


j  JACOB   HAMBUN, 

|  The  Buckskin  Apostle,  „, 

=  Incisive  .  .  .  forrhriahf •  j  . 

I  courage  and  Z2£*%LU  l^.t™"*1' 


oy  PAUL  BAILEY 

§       courage   and   energy  which   dSjST^t  '"lS''ahi   in,°  the 
|       sionary's  work  a^^£^^f^^   9reat   mis- 

I     Was  $4.50,  now  reduced  to 

' —;;—;;- 


$ 


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'TWO  PERSONS      -      ONE  CHARGE" 


599 


Courtesy  The  Bettmann  Archive 
GORDON    B.    HINCKLEY 


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Introducing  the  Authors 

Gordon  B.  Hinckley  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  of  Utah 
in  1932  with  an  A.  B.  in  English. 
The  following  year  he  was  called 
to  the  European  Mission,  and  after 
serving  five  months  in  the  British 
Mission,  he  served  the  rest  of 
the  time  in  the  office  of  the  Euro- 
pean Mission  president,  Dr.  Joseph 
F.  Merrill  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve.  Upon  returning  home  he 
became  secretary  of  the  then  newly- 
organized  Church  Radio,  Publicity, 
and  Mission  Literature  Committee. 
As  its  executive  secretary  he  has 
written  and  produced  many  of  the  Church  radio  programs, 
including  "A  New  Witness  for  Christ,"  which  is  currently 
being  presented  on  KSL. 

Elder  Hinckley  has  compiled  and  edited  the  Mission' 
ary  Handbook,  and  Principles  of  the  Gospel,  the  last- 
named  book  being  distributed  by  the  Church  to  its  one 
hundred  thousand  servicemen  and  women  during  the  war 
years.  He  supervises  the  production  of  all  films  used  in 
missionary  work.  He  is  the  author  of  the  popular  missionary 
book,  What  of  the  Mormons?  He  has  been  a  seminary  in- 
structor, and  for  nine  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Deseret 
Sunday  School  Union  general  board,  being  released  in  1946 
to  become  a  member  of  the  East  Mill  Creek  Stake  presidency. 
At  the  present  time  he  serves  as  first  counselor  in  this  stake 
which  has  the  distinction  of  having  the  largest  membership  in 
the  Church.  He  is  an  instructor  in  the  mission  home,  and  he 
and  his  wife  are  the  parents  of  four  children.  (See  page  548.) 

« 


THE  LIGHT  TOUCH 

Detailed  Information 

In    Macy's    famous    basement,    a    home    economics    expert 
was  demonstrating   a  then  new  type  of  electric   egg   cooker. 


The  demonstrator  showed  the  onlookers  how  a  teaspoon 
of  water  was  deposited  in  the  cooker  for  each  minute  the 
egg  was  to  cook.  She  placed  three  teaspoons  of  water  in 
the  cooker  and — when  the  water  was  gone — out  came  a 
perfect  three-minute  egg. 

Her  demonstration  concluded,  she  started  to  pack  her 
equipment,  when  a  little  gray-haired  old  lady  tapped  her 
timidly  on  the  arm  and  asked: 

"Excuse  me,  but  did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  for  each 
minute  you  want  the  egg  to  boil,  you  just  put  in  one  tea- 
spoon of  water?" 

The  demonstrator  assured  her  this  was  correct. 

"I  see,"  said  the  little  lady.     "Now,  is  that  level  or  heap- 


ing/ 


'■&■ 


Stay- At- Home 

An  Arkansas  hillbilly  built  a  house  for  his  wife  in  which 
he  fashioned  windows   but  no  doors. 

"Where  are  the  doors?"  asked  the  bride. 

He  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height  and  replied:  "Doors? 
Are  you   going   somewhere?" 

— <$> ; 


A   Falling   Out 

Man's  teeth   and  hair  are  his  best  friends.     But  even  the 
best  of  friends  fall  out. 

<t> 


New  Approach 

A  young  married  woman,  knowing  her  husband  would  be 
tired  from  working  so  hard  during  the  day,  met  him  at  the 
door  with  a  cheerful  and  friendly  greeting. 

"I'm  happy  you're  home,  dear,"  she  chirped.  "I've  got  a 
lot  of  things  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about." 

"Glad  to  hear  it,"  he  grunted.  "Usually  you  want  to  talk 
to  me  about  a  lot  of  things  you  haven't  got." 


-&■ 


SIX    STAKES    CONDUCT    M    MEN -GLEANER    YOUTH    CONFERENCE 

Theme  for  the  Saturday  night  banquet  pictured  here  was 
"Happy  Landing." 

Sunday's  meetings  featured  a  general  session  addressed  by 
Leon  L.  Imlay  and  William  Smart  of  the  Y.M.M.I.A.  general 
board,  as  well  as  Gleaner  and  M  Men  leaders  of  the  area, 
and   a   testimony   meeting. 


Mmen  and  Gleaners  of  Blaine,  Burley,  Cassia,  Minidoka, 
Raft  River,  and  Twin  Falls  stakes  held  an  interstake 
youth"  conference  this  spring  at  Rupert,  Idaho,  with  Mini- 
doka Stake  acting  as  host.  Eugene  R.  Budge  of  Burley, 
retiring  supervisor  of  division  eight,  was  general  chairman 
of  the   two-day   conference. 


§ 

§ 


.§ 

§ 


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